Of You And Me
by LariaKaiba
Summary: We all make assumptions. But sometimes those assumptions can spin us completely out of control. -Warnings: Crazy thoughts about Pharaoh and general Marik naughty not-nice-ness!-
1. Prologue

**---Welcome to my ridiculously uncalled for story. I call it this because I came up with the basic plot line of this story at five in the morning, when I had to be up for work at seven... and the basic plot line is a page long. (And basically only covered the **_**couples**_** of this story). **

**Since then I've filled practically half a notebook with **_**notes**_** and the first couple chapters. This is going to be a long one. **

**I'm not going to say much about what the plot entails because I don't want to give it away. It's just that good.**

**Warnings: Yoai, confusion, and darkness. (Still hashing out what all is going to happen, so more warnings may be added.)**

**Pairings: (shipping names used to enhance confusing) Mnemoshipping, Antagoshipping, Deathshipping, Angstshipping, Puzzleshipping.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, it owns me.**

**And without further ado, I present the ridiculously uncalled for story. ---**

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**Of You And Me  
By: Laria Kaiba**

**Prologue**

_He is my Aibou. My partner. My other me._

_Ever since he finished the Millennium Puzzle I have been here for him, and he's been here for me. We've faced everything. Together. _

_He is the mirror of my soul. I am him, he is me. I am everything he's not. He is everything I wish to be. _

_And he loves me._

_But that's just it. He is me. So to love him, is to love myself. I just can't bring myself to do it... it seems far to egotistical. I'm not saying he's wrong for loving me... he's just too innocent to see what it really means to love your other half. _

_I can't tell him this though._

_How crushed would he be if I told him I didn't love him back?_

---(--)---

_Ever since I can remember the Pharaoh has always been on my mind. He was the reason my clan was cursed to the darkness. Protecting his Items. His memories._

_I thought he was the reason my father was killed... my family was torn apart. _

_Over the years I became obsessed. Not a day went by when I didn't think of him. I couldn't think of anything BUT the Pharaoh. And my revenge._

_Now that's over._

_I still think about the Pharaoh. A lot. Just not what I used to think. The anger faded away and left a new emotion..._

---(--)---

_There's a lot of downfalls to being an Egyptian spirit trapped inside a golden ring. The biggest of these downfalls has got to be... not having a body of my own._

_Ra, it would make thwarting that pesky Pharaoh so much easier if I didn't have my host to worry about._

_Don't get me wrong. It's not that I love the boy or anything._

_Ra no!_

_It's just that if something were to happen to him then there I'd be, back in the Ring for who knows how long!_

---(--)---

_The media is horrible thing. _

_People these days are so fickle, so judgmental. One bad thing leaks out about you... It can destroy your reputation, your company... Everything attached to your name._

_Why do they think I have such a hard shell?_

_If I ever showed too much... if I ever let a secret or two slip..._

_People forced to live in that lime light have to walk such a thin line. If you make one false move... it's all over._

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**--- Don't worry, this is just an introduction, the whole story is not going to be like this. (ten points to anyone who can pick out the four main characters) ---**


	2. Chapter One

**--- Another chapter! Ha ha! **

**First couple chapters aren't gonna take me long to post, since I already have up to chapter two written, I'll start chapter three here soon.**

**Ummm... No reviews yet... so not much to say here I guess. **

**Enjoy! ---**

**Chapter One**

It was a typical fall day. It didn't look like fall. It didn't smell like fall. It didn't taste like fall.

But it was fall. And Yugi Motou knew that it was fall as he walked to school. He could feel it deep inside him.

"Hey Yug'!"

The small duelist was greeted by the familiar calls of this friends as he entered the courtyard of Domino High.

"Good morning!" Yugi beamed back at the tall blond boy, who was more commonly known as Jounouchi, "Has anyone seen Malik?"

"Oh!" Tea's eyes lit up, "Is today his first day?"

"Yup!" Yugi nodded. Since the end of Battle City the former psychotic blonde and him had become close friends. Malik even convinced his sister and step-brother to move to Japan so he could go to school with them all. The Ishtars would return back to their homeland upon graduation.

"His first day of public school," Jounouchi sighed.

"I almost feel sorry for the guy," Honda said with a sideway glance to his blond-haired friend.

"Neh! If anyone tries to push him around they'll have to listen to me!" Jounouchi boasted, jabbing him thumb into his chest.

"I'd pay to see that," sneered Seto Kaiba as he breezed by the group. He hadn't changed one bit... if anything he was more disgruntled after losing his own tournament, "It would be worth it to see you get your ass kicked, dweeb."

It was so easy to insult the blond that Seto didn't even have to pause to do it.

"Yeah! Keep walking, Kaiba!" he heard Jounouchi yell. The CEO smirked as he entered the school.

"Jerk," Jounouchi muttered once he was gone.

"You shouldn't even waste your energy on him," Tea said as the first bell rang, signally fifteen minutes before classes started. The group started to migrate towards the outer doors of the school.

"Malik better hurry up," Yugi worries out loud, "Or he's going to be late for his first class."

But what the group of duelists didn't know was that their friend, Malik Ishtar, was already there and had been watching them from the shade of a large oak tree that stood on the school grounds. He had been too scared to approach the group.

After the climax of Battle City and the blonde had returned to normal (or as normal as someone who spent their entire life under ground can be) the anger and the hatred he once felt for the Pharaoh faded away and now he felt other feelings towards the tri-colored King of Games.

It was safe to say that our little Malik now had a crush on the former Pharaoh of Egypt.

He had also become very shy around him... and his counterpart.

His lavender eyes stayed glued to the group of his friends until they disappeared inside the school. He then felt it was safe to head in himself. As Malik left the sanctuary of his shady hiding spot he ran into another boy. A very familiar boy.

This boy was Ryou Bakura.

"Malik?" the white haired teen blurted out in a questioning tone upon bumping into the blonde, "What were you doing hiding behind that tree?"

"What? N-no!" Malik stammered, "I wasn't hiding I was..."

Unable to think of a good excuse the teen hung his head in defeat, "... Hiding behind the tree."

Ryou giggled at this as the two made their way up the concrete steps and into the school.

"Don't worry," Ryou said, "I felt like hiding my first day here too. But you've got a lot of us looking out for you. And if I need to, I'll just sick Bakura on anyone that bothers you."

The hikari smiled at this. Ah, Ryou always had the breezy smile. He never let anything get him down. Not even the spirit of a former tomb robber that took up residence inside his mind. His smile was very refreshing.

"Speaking of Bakura," Malik said as they stopped at Ryou's locker, "How is the old fart?"

Ryou sighed, "Still bitter over his recent defeat at the hands of the Pharaoh."

A goofy little grin spread over Malik's lips as the butterflies in his stomach took flight in his stomach at the mere mention of the Pharaoh. He quickly urged these actions to stop before the white haired teen noticed. Thankfully, Ryou was currently busying himself in the contents of his locker and wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to the blonde.

"So what's your first class?" Ryou asked, turning to Malik again.

"Oh! Uh..." Somehow the blonde just realized that he was inside a school. He swung his bag off his shoulders and fumbled through it. Finally his class schedule emerged from its depths.

"Communications," Malik read off the paper, "Room 224."

Ryou barely suppressed a joyful squeal as he grabbed Malik's hand. The white haired teen began dragging him down the hall, babbling excitedly.

"That means you're in my class! This'll be awesome! I'll totally finagle you a seat next to me!"

---(--)---

Malik never thought school would be so... boring. But sitting in a cramped little desk, listening to mundane teachers constantly drone on got old fast and the blonde was more then ready for that lunch break his schedule kept taunting him with.

The last class he had before said launch break was Biology. Malik sat in the stuffy science room with his arms folded on the desk in front of him. He glanced vaguely up at the clock on the wall. He could have sworn that time had stopped. The black hands were plastered in the same angle against the bright white face of the clock that they had been the last time he looked at them... Perhaps that was because he'd looked up at the clock seven times in the past minute.

The blonde haired teen sighed and laid his head down on his arms, turning his focus to the teacher this time. Only ten minutes of this until he was free for lunch.

While the teacher rambled on about photosynthesis Malik's mind decided it rather wonder off to more exciting topics... like a certain spiky-haired Pharaoh.

Thrust into a time warp by his thoughts, Malik barely registered that the lunch bell had rang, or that his fellow classmates were now scrambling to gather their belongings and high tail it out of the classroom. Malik looked around in a daze before hastily shoving his book into his bag and raising from his seat.

He was the last one to leave the classroom and was soon swept away by the stream of teenagers in the hallway, all flowing towards the cafeteria or the courtyard in the center of the school.

"Oi, Malik!"

The blonde turned to see Ryou leaning against a row of lockers outside the river of students. Malik carefully made his way over to the other boy, making sure he didn't push anyone too hard, or draw too much attention to himself.

"Hey Ryou," Malik breathed once he was out of the current.

"How's the first day going?"

"Boring," Malik answered pointedly.

"And it's all down hill from here," Ryou said cheerfully, "Come on, we're meeting up with Yugi and them in the courtyard."

A pale arm linked itself around Malik's tan one as Ryou steered him down the now mostly deserted hallway.

"Are you not getting lunch first?" Malik asked.

"I'm not overly hungry today," Ryou said, shaking his head. A sliver lock of hair fell into his face. He huffed at it and tucked it back behind his ear, "Plus, if you're not one of the first people in the lunch room there's no way you'll get food in time to eat it."

"Noted." Malik made a mental reminder to pack a lunch for tomorrow.

Once in the courtyard Malik tilted his face towards the rays of sun that filtered through the trees. The fresh air was very nice compared to the stale air of the school. The sweltering heat of summer had finally broke so it was now a comfortable seventy-eight degrees out. And (even though it was barely fall) Malik could already feel a whisper of winter in the wind.

"... So that's when we bought the horse a prostitute." Jounouchi sat on top of a picnic table in the middle of the courtyard tell the rest of the group a story. Malik deduced that it was a rather humorous one at that, since a chorus of laughs rang up from the teens as he and Ryou approached them.

"Well look what the cat coughed up!" Jounouchi jumped off the table when the two finally joined the group. Malik didn't realize that his arm was entwined with Ryou's, and how that must have looked to the other teens in the group, until he was pulled away from the hikari and over to Jounouchi, who put his arm over his shoulders, "Ah! You know I'm just kidding man!"

The blond followed this statement with a loud, and mostly obnoxious laugh. Malik forced a timid smile at him.

"Whatever you say Jou," Malik said as he drew away from the other blond and sat himself down amongst the rest of the group on the bench of the picnic table. Ryou came up and sat next to him. Malik noted how uncomfortably close the white haired teen seemed to be, but chose not to say anything about it.

"It's good to see you again, Malik," Yugi said as Jounouchi reclaimed his seat on top of the table. They had been keeping in touch after Battle City. Seeing each other briefly here and there, but never really hanging out since Malik was busy moving and getting his affairs in order, "I almost thought you weren't going to come today."

"Yeah well..." Malik laughed and rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I'm not so used to getting up so early, so I was running a bit late this morning."

"I totally feel ya there," Honda nodded.

"Oh! Before I forget, Malik," Yugi turned his full attention to the blonde, "The other me wanted you to come over after school today."

"Me?" Malik asked, damn those butterflies again.

"No, the Malik at the other table," Ryou muttered sarcastically. The blonde shot him a playful glare, he had a feeling the spirit of the Millennium Ring had some influence over that jab.

"Yes you," Yugi laughed, "The other me said he needed to challenge you to a proper duel."

"Well I'll be honored to duel the Pharaoh," Malik grinned.

"You don't have to call him 'Pharaoh', you know," Yugi laughed again, "You can just call him Yami."

"Yami," Malik said barely above a whisper, that goofy smile graced his lips again. All of this was drowned out, however, by Jounouchi's triumphant cry.

"Awright!" The blond thrust his fist into the air, "Finally a real duel, this is going to awesome!"

Excited banter about the upcoming match swirled around the table. Malik hardly paid attention to it though, for he was now busy counting down the minutes until he got to see the Pharaoh again.

**---Btw, I wrote half this chapter at work on sticky notes. xD Good stuff.---**


	3. Chapter Two

**---This is a monster I tell you! A monster!---**

**Chapter Two**

The engine roared loudly as Malik revved his motorbike and shot through the streets of Domino. The cooling summer air rushed over his face and ran its fingers through his long blonde hair. Out of everything in this modern world he grew up without, this motorbike, this flying feeling, this... freedom was what he loved the most.

Malik sped through the busy afternoon traffic a bit faster then he should have. He had to stop by his place to pick up his deck and while he was there he decided to change his clothes. Needless to say, he was now running late.

The Isthar home was dimly lit by the afternoon sun that filtered through the curtains when the blonde teen stepped over the threshold of the front door. Once inside he quickly stripped off the heavy jacket of his school uniform. He smiled as the cool air hit his tan arms and determined that since his older sister, Isis, and step-brother, Rishid, were still at work he'd just throw off the rest of his unnecessary clothes here. Leaving his school uniform on the floor in the living room, Malik donned nothing more then his black boxers as he ventured further into the home.

In his room, Malik dug through his closet looking for the perfect outfit. The clothes in the closet proved fruitless, however, so she settled for picking up a few articles of clothing off his floor. He sat on his bed and slipped on his favorite khakis followed by a sleeveless lavender shirt that matched his eyes. The thin material fell loosely over his chest and showed off his well toned mid-drift. He smoothed out some of the wrinkles and grabbed his jewelry off his night-stand. Malik was very sore when they wold him he wasn't allowed to wear his earrings and things to school. Damn dress code.

The teen stood in front of the mirror for eight minutes and seventeen seconds making sure everything was in place, from his shirt, to his earrings, to every last strand of hair. Everything had to be perfect. When he was finally happy with his appearance he glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Shit," he whispered realizing how long he had taken to get ready. He quickly snatched his leather jacket out of the hall closet and rushed out the door.

... Only to rush back in two seconds later because he forgot his deck, the main reason for coming home in the first place.

Now Malik sat outside the Turtle Game Shop. He took a deep breath and got shakily off his motorbike. The more time went by the more nervous he was getting. The blonde wiped his sweaty hands on his khakis, screwed his face into a smile, and entered the Game Shop.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to the --" the old man behind the counter paused when he saw the blonde teen, "Ho! Ho! Malik! It's good to see you again, my boy!"

"Like wise, Mr. Motou," Malik said politely.

"Ho! Ho!" the old man laughed, "No need to waste such pleasantries on me, just call me Grandpa."

Having nearly killed this kindly old man, and his grandson, not to long ago Malik didn't feel he should be so informal, so he chose not to call him 'Grandpa'.

"Is Yugi and them here?" Malik asked.

"Ah yes, they're upstairs," the old man said, "Yugi mentioned that you were coming by. And to challenge Yami to a duel no less."

Malik nodded and headed towards the staircase that lead to the upper living space of the Game Shop.

"Well, good luck, my boy!" the old man waved him off, "You'll have to let me know how it goes, ho! Ho!"

Malik gave a small smile and climbed the stairs. He could hear the cheerful prattles of the teenagers in the room above. Despite that, a slightly awkward silence fell over the room when the blonde teen appeared at the top of the stairs. Malik promptly realized that everyone, save for him and the Pharaoh, were still in their school uniforms. The Egyptian felt very over dressed, having changed his clothes before he came over. He shifted uncomfortably on the stairwell.

"Hey Malik!" Tea beamed.

"Dude! We were just talking about you!" Jounouchi said.

"Oh?" Malik asked.

"Wondering if ya got lost of somethin'," the other blond laughed.

"Oh, ha ha," Malik laughed nervously, "Well my deck seemed to got misplaced in the move, so it... took a while to find it?"

He lied. Of course he lied. He couldn't just come out and say that he took so long because he wanted to change his clothes to impress that Pharaoh. To show off his sexy body. No, he could never say something like that.

His clothes said that for him.

"Well that's alright," Yugi nodded, "Come join us, sit down."

He indicated towards the open chair on the other side of the room. Malik noted that there were others in the group that opted to sit on the floor instead. Had they kept the seat open just for him? He was amazed at how forgiving these people were. After all, it was not more then a few months ago that Malik was a threat to their lives. Now they welcomed him like they a been best friends since third grade.

Malik crossed the room and took a seat in the empty arm chair.

"How was the move?" Yami asked once Malik was settled.

"Good," Malik answered, despite the fact that his mouth had gone very dry and his stomach churned violently with butterflies, "It went very smoothly actually. Since Isis has connections to the government and all, she had no problems getting visas for us."

"Very good," Yami nodded.

That goofy smile attached itself to Malik's lips again, but the former Pharaoh had already turned his attention back to the rest of the group. Malik's focus also turned to the others as idle chat filled the room again. The blonde really had nothing to add so he smiled, and laughed, and reacted when he should. Just to let them know that he was listening, or... half listening at least.

Almost without registering it, Malik found himself gazing at Yami again. The former Pharaoh sat on the couch, his legs were crossed in a very regal manner, almost as if he were sitting on a throne. Yami seemed to always have that air of holiness, it must just come naturally after years of ruling Egypt. One of Yami's thin arms lay lax over the armrest of the couch, while the other draped itself protectingly over Yugi. Pointed fingers lazily caressed the boy's shoulder.

The blonde Egyptian hadn't seen the two counterparts side by side since the finally duel of Battle City when the darker side of Malik (who was more commonly known as Marik) decided to use Yugi and Malik himself as human sacrifices. Up until then the two souls had shared a body, but after Malik had given the Millennium Rod back to the Pharaoh he had enough shadow power to form his own being.

The two counterparts now sat on the couch before him. The Pharaoh on his throne, his hikari at his side. Malik watched Yugi laugh at a joke and cuddle closer to Yami. Oh how Malik wished he could be there. That close to the Pharaoh, to have his arm around his tan shoulders. Malik wanted to bury his face in the Pharaoh's chest and take a deep breathe of his intoxicating scent.

Malik wondered what Yami smelled like. Did he have a musky scent... sandalwood maybe? Or perhaps he had a sweet smell, like vanilla. Or something unexpected like lavender.

Or maybe he had a heavenly smell that belonged only to a Pharaoh. One that couldn't be described by words.

Crimson eyes met lavender.

Malik's eyes went wide and he quickly looked away. How long had he been staring? How long had Pharaoh known he'd been staring? The blonde scanned the room, not daring to look back at Yami in case he was still watching him. No one else seemed to notice Malik had been staring at the Pharaoh.

Malik's attention returned once again to the rest of the group. He'd been in his own thoughts so long that he didn't know what they were talking about.

"...Yah! Vagina boogers" Jounouchi exclaimed. Tea, being the only one in the room with a vagina, smacked the blond's arm playfully, and Yugi stood and left the room.

... Maybe Malik didn't want to know what they were talking about.

**--- ... I can't believe I just had two paragraphs dedicated to how Yami smells. O.o;; ---**


	4. Chapter Three

**---It's all down hill from here.---**

**Chapter Three**

After catching Malik staring at him, the former Pharaoh regarded him quietly. He wondered what the blonde had been thinking. Those lavender orbs didn't seem very focused, perhaps Malik hadn't been staring at all, he just happened to be pondering in Yami's direction.

"Is anyone hungry?" Yugi had asked after Yami and Malik's eyes met, "Grandpa picked up some spinach cheese artichoke dip for us."

Yugi's question was answered by a few nods and Jounouchi's very enthusiastic cry of: "Alright yah! Vagina boogers!"

Which had been promptly followed by Tea slapping his arm. Yugi chuckled and went to the kitchen to prepare food.

"I wish you would stop calling it vagina boogers," Tea sighed at the very immature blonde.

"I can't help it, that's what it looks like," Jounouchi shrugged.

"Yeah, like _you've_ ever seen a vagina," Tea muttered.

"As a matter of fact, we've seen _plenty_ of vaginas, right Honda," Jounouchi said slyly, raising his eyebrows,. He then called to the kitchen, "Right Yug'!"

"I don't know what you're talking about Jou," Yugi called back, "But I probably don't wanna know!"

"Boys are such pervs," Tea shook her head at them.

"So Malik," Jounouchi turned his attention to the other blonde, "Have you ever seen a vagina?"

"M-me? Uhh... I-I... N-no!" Malik had been caught off guard by the bluntess of the question, he answered quietly, "Since I was the chosen heir of the Pharaoh's memories I didn't interact much with the others in the clan. Isis and Rishid were the only ones I ever saw."

"Incest is best," Jounouchi chuckled. Malik's eyes went wide and he blinked at the other teen a few times.

"He's joking," Ryou whispered.

Sometime during the discussion the white haired teen had moved from his original seat and was now sitting on the floor in front of Malik. The blonde almost jumped when he realized Ryou was there. It was amazing how much the hikari was like the spirit of the Millennium Ring. They were both excellent at sneaking around unnoticed. Thieves till the end.

"Yeah man! I'm just messing wit'cha!" Jounouchi laughed, "But that's just unacceptable that you've never seen a vagina! I've got some videos to show you."

"Now now, there's no need to corrupt the boy," Tea scolded.

"Yeah," Ryou nodded in agreement, "Not everyone is as lewd as you."

Jounouchi waved them off with another laugh, "He needs to be educated before he turns gay and thinks up outrageous ideas about vaginas."

The blond leaned in close to Malik, pointed towards the white haired teen on the floor and whispered, "_He thinks they have teeth._"

"I do not!" Ryou whined, glaring up at Jounouchi. Malik couldn't help but chuckle with the rest of the group.

"It's ready!" Yugi called from the kitchen. A quiet cheer rang up from the teenagers as they stood and headed to the eating area. Yami and Malik were the last to the door.

"How about that duel after we eat?" the former Pharaoh asked.

"Sure! I've been looking forward to doing yo--" Malik froze when he realized what he had just said, he quickly tried to fix it, "Dueling! Dueling is what I meant!"

Yami merely smiled and entered the kitchen. A fleeting thought of how cute the blonde was with a flushed face.

---(--)---

Yami had won the duel. Of course he had won the duel. No one doubted that the former Pharaoh wouldn't beat Malik, but that's not what the duel was about. It doesn't matter who wins and who loses, all that matters is that you had fun. And it was fun, Malik turned out to be a rather skilled duelist and he had Yami on the ropes the whole time until the final upset.

It was late now, everyone had gone home long ago and Yugi was getting ready for bed. He exited the bathroom that was connected to his room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He was now clad in a pair of sky blue PJ's with little Kuriboh's all over it. Yami was sitting on the bed they shared (and not in _that _way, you pervs!) in a pair of royal purple PJ's. His didn't have childish cartoons on it.

"It's been a great day, hasn't it, other me?" Yugi sigh as he crawled onto the bed next to Yami.

"It has," the Pharaoh nodded, it had actually been a while since they had all hung out, "I'm glad to see that everyone is doing well."

Yugi wiggled under the blankets on the bed, Yami chose not to lay down just yet.

"Especially Malik," the former Pharaoh added.

"Were you worried about him, other me?" Yugi asked, laying down on his pillow.

"He's been through a lot, Aibou," Yami said grimly. He felt much guilt and anguish over what the the Ishtar family had gone through all those years after he had been sealed within the Millennium Puzzle. Surely there could have been another way to protect the memories without having to inflict so much darkness, so much pain, "It's very fortunate that Malik could walk through hell and come out this sane on the other end."

There was a pause, a silence in which Yugi sat up and worked up the courage to ask, "You don't think the dark side of Malik will ever come out again, do you?"

Yami's face fell even more, "Only time will tell."

Yugi lowered his eyes and stared at the sheets below him.

"Well the dark side won't come out if malik has someone around that keeps him calm right?" the small duelist asked, "Like Rishid?"

"I believe that's how it works, Aibou," Yami said.

"Well I think he's going to be fine," Yugi smiled, flopping back down on his pillow.

The former Pharaoh turned to his counterpart with questioning eyes. The smaller of the two winked.

"Malik and Ryou sure are a cute couple."

The questioning in Yami's eyes deepened, "I wasn't aware the two were together."

"Well, they haven't _told_ anyone yet," Yugi shrugged, "But it's totally obvious that they're together."

Yugi sighed and threw in, "I think it's good for them."

"Right," Yami stood from the bed, "But now it's time for you to get to sleep, Aibou, you've got school in the morning."

"Where are you going?" the counterpart asked.

"I'm not tired just yet," the Pharaoh said as he headed towards the bedroom door, "I wouldn't want to keep you up. I'm just going to go watch a movie or something."

"Ok, other me," Yugi said, trying to mask the sadness in his voice, "Don't stay up too late."

Yami nodded and smiled at his counterpart. He then left the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him. As the Pharaoh made his way to the living room he wished he hadn't changed into his PJ's so soon. He was much to restless to sit and watch something on TV, let alone even think about sleep. He wanted to go for a walk, but going back to change his clothes now would only make Yugi worry. So Yami grabbed the remote and settled himself on the couch. He pressed a few buttons, hoping that a good movie was in the DVD player.

_Blades of Glory. _Yami narrowed his eyes.

The former Pharaoh didn't feel like getting up though, so he just laid down on the couch. The movie was soon forgotten as Yami got lost in his thoughts.

It was good that Malik and Ryou were together. But Yami couldn't help but remember the blush that spread over the blonde's cheeks earlier that day. There was no doubt that Malik was irresistible... with his well toned body, his platinum blonde hair and lavender eyes, a perfect contrast to his mocha skin. Malik _was_ the definition of eye candy.

Yami was instantly assaulted by images of Malik writhing below him, those tan cheeks tinted red, a small moan falling from those soft lips. The Pharaoh smiled slowly at the fantasies in his mind, a sadness growing inside him. Malik was with Ryou, it was obvious... Yami had just chosen to ignore the evident signs that had been flashing above the teen's heads. The way Ryou looked at the blonde, the happy nervousness that fell over Malik when he was near the white haired hikari.

And then there was Yugi. His poor, sweet, innocent, naive, little counterpart. He wore his feelings right on his sleeve, so Yami knew very well how his counterpart felt about him, how he loved him. Yami loved him back, just not in that way. Yami loved him like a friend, a brother... an equal. The missing piece of his soul that had been lost for so many years.

But to look at Yugi as a lover? Yami just couldn't do it. It would be like falling in love with your reflection in a mirror, with yourself. And the sex... it would be pretty much be glorified masturbation.

He couldn't tell these things to Yugi though, he couldn't do that to his counterpart, he couldn't hurt him like that. So he hid those thoughts deep within his heart, where Yugi would never find them. For now Yami would pretend, hoping someday that the little boy in Yugi would grow up and move on. Would realize that Yami already knew.

Until then the fantasies that now plagued him about a certain blonde haired boy would remain just that... fantasies.

**---My friend Curtis actually does think that vaginas have teeth.... I love that boy!**

**Let the love octagon continue!---**


	5. Chapter Four

**---This is about the shortest chapter so far. But it was actually harder to write then the rest. It took me a while to figure out how I was gonna portray what I needed to in a way that makes sense. And compared to how the stories been going this may seem a bit weird, but it has it's reasons in future chapters. **

**Also, ironically, I seem to have referenced something I've never read before. xD That's just how awesome I am. ---**

**Chapter Four**

Malik's bedroom was on the ground floor of the Ishtar's new home. In the room there was a bay window that faced the back yard. The blonde teen sat in the window sill staring out into the night. His tan arm was rested on one of his knees, a cigarette was held lazily between his fingers. The grey smoke drifted up from the smoldering tip and disappeared out the open window into the cool night air.

Malik slowly raised the cigarette to his lips. He closed his eyes, taking a long drag off it before putting it out in the ashtray beside him. The ashtray was once gold, but was now stained black with ash. Malik sighed, blowing the smoke from his lungs out the window just as lazily as he had once been holding the cigarette.

The blonde wasn't too proud of this vice, but smoking was a habit he picked up while leading the Ghouls. The only other person that knew about it was Rishid. Since Malik wasn't old enough to buy cigarettes on his own he had to rely on his step-brother to supply him. Nowadays Malik doesn't smoke as much as he did when he was the spearhead to a large group of rare hunters, but the urge still plagued him when he was particularly on edge... like after spending the day making a fool of himself in front of his crush.

"_I've been looking forward to doing you_."

Malik was still kicking himself for that little slip of the tongue. How could he be so dumb as to let something like _that_ spew from his mouth. Surely the Pharaoh would think he's weird now.

Having finished his cigarette, Malik stood from the window sill and picked up the ashtray. He hid it, along with a half empty pack of smokes and a black lighter in one of the drawers in his desk. He sighed again and returned to where he had been sitting. He wasn't quite ready for bed.

Malik gazed listlessly out the window again. The full moon in the sky made the dark world outside seem so much brighter then it should be. A small smile came to Malik's lips as a short breeze came through the open window. He'd sure miss this when they'd soon have to shut up for the winter. The blondes eyes fell shut again as he took a deep breath of the fresh fall air and became completely lost in his thoughts...

_Oh the Pharaoh._

_My Pharaoh._

_Seeing you again, after so long..._

_My insides twist with nervousness._

_A kind I have never felt before._

_To be near you._

_How I long to touch you._

_Feel your lips on mine._

_I know you've forgiven me._

_But I'm still so sorry._

_For what I almost did._

_What I did do._

_To you._

_And your friends._

_If only I knew how wonderful._

_You were._

_Who was I to question you._

_The almighty one._

_I could never be you._

_I could never be Pharaoh._

_When I look into your eyes._

_I get lost._

_You are the only one I see._

_Amongst the group._

_They do not matter._

_Everyone pales._

_Compared to you._

_You are perfect._

_Your eyes._

_Your smile._

_Your hair._

_Your arms._

_Your body._

_Your skin._

_Everything._

_There are no flaws about you._

_I wish I could be with you._

_To hold you._

_Just the two of us._

_Me and you._

_Me and the Pharaoh._

_My Pharaoh._

_My Pharaoh._

_My Pharaoh..._

**---By the way, I don't smoke. I don't condone smoking. I don't even like people to smoke around me. But for some reason the mental image of Malik smoking worked for this story. I am telling you, this story has a mind of its own. **

**But that's alright because it gives more reasoning for the next chapter. ---**


	6. Chapter Five

**---My bestest best friend of awesomeness, the Marik to my Bakura, JEFFERY is leaving! She's going back to Seattle and leaving us here to rot. I am very sad. **

**Also, Jeffery's boyfriend was here visiting while I've been writing the first couple parts of this story. He is now the Seto to my Laria. He is totally my new brother xD (he looks good in my high-heel boots and my "Kaiba" coat. But he's gone back to Kansas now.**

**... Everyone is leaving me. -cries-**

**Hm, I don't think I have anything really to say about the chapter I guess. ---**

**Chapter Five**

Much like Malik, Ryou was currently sitting by the window in his bedroom, and much like the Pharaoh, he was thinking about a certain blonde-haired teen.

It was late and Ryou had extinguished all the lights in his room long ago. He was now sitting in the dark, gazing longingly out the window. The moonlight filtered through the panes, illuminating his pale skin. The hikari almost seemed to have a ghostly glow about him.

To him the world seemed to stop. Everything was quiet, and surely he was the only one that could still be up at this late hour. In this stillness, where everyone else's brain would shut down to recharge, Ryou couldn't get his mind to stop. It would race from one thought to another faster then he could keep up. And still one notion kept popping up.

_Malik._

The white haired teen sighed. During Battle City the spirit of the Millennium Ring had been in control when they first met Malik. There are very few times when Ryou would remember what the spirit does when he has dominance over the body they shared. So it was quite a shock when Ryou woke up in the strong arms of a boy he'd never met.

Even with the gash in his arm, Ryou knew it was love at first sight.

He was one of the few that kept regular contact with the blonde while the Ishtar family was working on moving, but to actually see him again... well, Ryou just tried not to be so obvious about his true feelings.

..._please, yadonushi..._

The voice in the back of his mind scoffed.

..._you couldn't have been more obvious if you had ravished the poor boy on top of the picnic table in front of everyone..._

Ryou rolled his eyes at the voice, "I am not going to ravish the poor boy."

The white haired teen had finally come to terms with the fact that there was now the spirit of a tomb robber from ancient Egypt taking up residence in his mind. He realized that there was nothing he could do about it and decided that he'd stop wasting his energy trying to fight him. Since then the two souls have been getting along quite nicely.

"I was just over excited to see him," Ryou continued, "I didn't get to see him much during Battle City..."

..._in all fairness, nobody really got to see the real Malik during Battle City..._

"Yeah..."

The spirit of the Ring could hear the sadness in his hikari's voice. He decided to cheer him up... by providing Ryou with a mental image along the lines of a certain blonde hovering above the white haired hikari. Naked, straddling his hips, and slowly working his way down to Ryou's lower region. The illusion left phantom touches on his skin that send shivers up and down his spine.

"Bakura!" the spirits name fell from the teens lips in a gasp as he bit his lip. Ryou shook the images from his mind, he was feeling a bit lightheaded considering that all his blood was now rushing to that special place in his pants, making him quite uncomfortable.

..._oops, sorry..._

The spirits voice held no apologetic tone, if anything it sounded like he was holding back a laugh.

Ryou sighed, "That's not funny, Bakura."

..._you know you liked it, yadonushi..._

"That's beside the point," the hikari pouted. The voice chuckled.

..._are you ready to sleep now?_...

Ryou glanced fleetingly at the bed on the other side of the room. Every time the spirit would take over the body the boy's mind would fall into a deep hibernation. Mentally the teen would relax and recharge as if he were asleep, even though his physical body is still up and moving. Since the spirit grew restless being cooped up in the boy's mind all the time they had came to the agreement that Ryou would be in control during the day, and the spirit could take over and reek havoc at night. There were times, however, when Ryou would miss crawling into his warm bed, which now sat virtually unused.

"Bakura?"

..._yes_...

"Just don't tell Malik how I feel about him."

The tomb robber chuckled again, taking control of the body.

---(--)---

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

He readjusted himself against the cold, hard surface as he tried to ignore the sound that was disturbing his peacefulness.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Lavender eyes blinked open. Malik looked around in a daze before realizing that he had fallen asleep against his window, and that someone was outside it trying to get his attention. At first he thought the person outside the window to be a ghost, pale skin and snow white hair shone brightly in the moonbeams on the other side of the glass.

"Ryou?" the blonde whispered to himself, pushing the window open more. Finally getting a good look at the teen outside the window he noticed the subtle difference in the eyes from that of the Ryou he had been with earlier that day.

"Well that is certainly an interesting way to sleep," the spirit said, poking his head in the window as Malik stretched his sore muscles from dozing in such an awkward position.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep here," Malik rubbed his neck, "I must have been more tired then I thought."

"I'm disappointed in you, Ishtar," Bakura crossed his arms over his chest, "I came all this way to see you and you're too tired."

"Well, perhaps if you came by during normal people hours I wouldn't be tired," Malik grumbled.

"But the night is so beautiful," Bakura said, the blonde made a face at him, "Oh yeah that's right, you're afraid of the dark."

"I'm _not_ afraid of the dark. I just... don't like it," Malik glared, Bakura chortled softly at him, "Ra, make me sound like I'm ten or something."

"Well..." the spirit shrugged.

"Shut up," Malik shook his head, "What brings you here?"

"Everyone else gets to see you and I can't?" Bakura asked, "Come on, we're going for a walk."

"Fine fine, hold on," Malik got up and shuffled over to his desk, retrieving the pack of cigarettes and lighter from the drawer. He shoved them into his pants pocket and crawled out the window to join the spirit in the night.

---(--)---

"What's the two dirtiest animals in the barnyard?"

"What?" Malik asked with a sidewise glance at the spirit.

"Brown chicken, brown cow," Bakura drawled with a lustful melody in his voice.

Malik's face twitched as his brain processed the joke. His lips finally curled into a smile and he chuckled quietly, shaking his head, "There's something amazingly wrong with you, tomb robber."

The two partners in crime wandered the peaceful city for the longest time before settling themselves on the picnic tables on the schools courtyard.

Bakura looked over at the blonde with a wink, "You know you love me."

"Love, psh," Malik laid back on top of the picnic table with his arms behind his head. The stars in the sky were slowly being covered by thick clouds. The air held the threat of rain.

"Oh I see, is the mighty Malik Ishtar too good for love?" the spirit asked.

Malik laughed, "It's not that. I just don't think anyone could love you."

"And why do you say that?" Bakura asked, crawling over the teen with a vicious look.

"No offense," Malik shrugged, completely unfazed by Bakura' attempt to dominate him, "But no one could ever love an insensitive dolt like you."

Bakura lingered for a second, and then flopped away from Malik with a sigh, "You're right."

The blonde smiled and continued to watch the clouds that were taking over the sky. After a pause the spirit spoke again in an unnatural soft tone.

"I'm really glad you decided to come back."

Malik shot straight up and looked at Bakura with wide eyes, "You're not going to get all mushy on me are you?"

Bakura shot him a glare and snapped, "No."

"Oh good, I thought for a second there that the world was going to end soon," Malik looked around.

The former tomb robber rolled his eyes.

"But I know what you mean," Malik added, "I'm glad I came back too... It was mostly because of you."

Bakura looked at the blonde.

"You were the first person I ever considered a friend," Malik said.

"Same here," the spirit said, glancing away.

The two sat in silence, each lost in his own thoughts. After their chance meeting in one of the back allies of Domino, neither thought much of it other then a partnership to defeat the Pharaoh, but once the dark side of Malik took control the only person the teen could turn to was the spirit of the Millennium Ring. Malik made a face as an uneasy feeling crawled inside him. He shakily reached into his pocket and pulled out his smokes.

The blonde half expected the spirit to rag on him for the cigarettes, but Bakura simply looked at him and said, "Hey, can I bum one of those off you?"

"Sure," Malik handed the pack to him. He lit his cigarette and passed the lighter over as well. The spirit took a cigarette out of the pack and stuck it in his mouth. He flicked the lighter and lit the cigarette, taking a nice long drag off it.

"Oh yeah, that's good," Bakura sighed, exhaling the smoke from his lungs.

"What would Ryou say if he found out you were smoking in his body?" Malik asked.

"We just won't let him find out, will we?" Bakura said, "Besides, one little smoke isn't going to kill him."

"True," the blonde shrugged, taking another drag off his cigarette. He didn't know if the feeling inside him was getting better or worse with each inhale.

"Speaking of a certain white haired hikari," an evil grin spread across the spirit's lips, "You should ask Ryou out."

Malik blinked at Bakura a few times, "I should do what now?"

Bakura flicked the ashes off of his cigarette and shook his head, "That boy is madly in love with you."

"I knew he seemed clingier then usual," Malik snickered. The uneasy feeling deep inside him seemed to become very agitated as the blonde thought about how Ryou had acted earlier that day. Malik lifted his cigarette to his lips again, shaking visibly.

"Hey Malik, are you ok?" Bakura asked, very concerned now that his friend was quivering almost violently.

"I'm... fine, I just got to get home," Malik stood up, throwing the butt of his cigarette on the ground and stomping it out, "I need to get to bed, got school tomorrow and all."

Malik started to walk away from the spirit, still feeling very unstable.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," Bakura said.

Malik stopped and looked back at him with a forced smile, "I'll be looking forward to it."

**---In case no one understood the joke:  
**

**Bow chicka wow wow.---**


	7. Chapter Six

**---And now a lesson in Karma, kiddies! **

**If all you're friends get sick because they unearthed something that should have been left dormant while helping a friend move. Don't brag that you didn't catch it because you were stuck watching the heathens... I mean children. **

**Because Ra WILL smite you. And you will catch the sickness too. **

**Good thing it did most of its ravishing on my roommate and Jeffery. I was only sick for a day or two! ---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Six**

_Tuesday._

"Other me?"

The bright morning sun streamed through the curtains, blinding his crimson eyes when he opened them. He immediately closed them again and placed his arm over his face, he was still too tired to deal with this light. With a groan, he rolled over and realized that he hadn't been sleeping in the comfortable bed he was used to. The former Pharaoh finally sat up and saw that he was still on the couch, and Yugi was standing over him with a very concerned look on his delicate boyish features.

"Good morning," Yami yawned, trying to seem nonchalant.

"What are you doing here?" the counterpart asked, "I got scared when I saw that you weren't in bed."

"I'm sorry I worried you, Aibou," Yami said standing up from the couch, stretching his arms, "I must have been more exhausted then I thought."

"It's alright, other me," the boys face beamed brightly as he gave the former Pharaoh a hug, "Just as long as you're safe."

Their mind link fluttered with happiness. Yami smiled softly down at the boy in this arms. Yugi finally pulled away, looking up at the former Pharaoh with large eyes.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?" Yami asked, poking the boy's juvenile PJ's he was still wearing.

"I know! I know!" Yugi giggled as Yami continued to poke his ticklish sides, "I wanted to make sure you were alright first!"

The teen laughed and squirmed and finally got away from his taller counterpart, scuttling off to the bathroom to get ready for the most dreaded rituals of a teenagers life... _school_.

Yami headed to the room he shared with his counterpart. He stripped off his PJ's and slipped on a black sleeveless shirt and tight black pants he picked off the floor. Since Yugi was occupying the bathroom he'd just throw on old clothes for now, he'd shower and change while Yugi was away.

The Pharaoh laid down on the bed and got swept away by the slow music that was emitting from the clock radio on the night stand. The dreams and thoughts of the night before revisited him and he was hit with a tidal wave a guilt. Malik was with Ryou, and he had to be here for Yugi... He couldn't be fawning over another boy like this.

Time slipped away from Yami once he was lost in his thoughts and before he knew it Yugi had returned from the bathroom. A towel hung loosely from his waist, clear drops splattered down his ivory skin when he shook his head. For being almost sixteen he still had a very youthful build. Yami constantly had to remind himself that the boy in front of him was a young adult and not a child, like he looked.

Yami vaguely watched his counterpart out of the corner of his eye. The towel slide off his hips and unto the floor where it was forgotten. The boy had never been shy about being naked around the former Pharaoh. After all they had once shared a body, and they were both guys so it wasn't like there was nothing he hadn't seen before.

Yugi glanced back at Yami, and caught a glimpse of the clock on the night stand. He noticed that he was now running a bit late. Yugi quickly threw on his school uniform and rushed out of the bedroom. Yami blinked, looking between the door and the clock. He then stood and followed his counterpart downstairs.

In the kitchen Yugi rushed around packing a lunch for himself. Yami stood in the doorway watching him. Yugi scurried out of the room and back in with his school bag. The teen finally rummaged a pack of Pop Tarts out of the cupboard and was ready to go.

"Have a great day at school, Aibou," Yami said giving the boy one last hug.

"You too," Yugi smiled, "I love you."

It pained Yami to hear that. He loved the boy, just not in the way Yugi had meant it. Yami's lips tugged sadly as he whispered, "I love you, too."

---(--)---

_Wednesday._

Malik had only been going to school for three days and each day got more boring then the one it followed. He was starting to wonder why he decided to waste his time like this. The school hours seemed to drag on longer and longer as each day passed.

Or maybe it just seemed that way because Malik was anxious to see the Pharaoh again.

In the morning on his way to school the blonde would smile and think; _today, today will be the day Yugi invited me over and I'll get to see him again._ And, thus far, he would return home that late afternoon, head hung low. Disappointed once again that a day went by without contact with the wonderful, beautiful, perfect Pharaoh.

Malik could have always asked to hang out. But he felt it would be rude to just invite himself over to someone else's house. Maybe it would give away that he liked the Pharaoh. No, no, can't do that, especially in front of Yugi. And he was afraid that if he invited Yugi over to his house that the Pharaoh wouldn't come.

Malik found it hard it enough to deal with the immature teens at school, let alone his house.

So he had to wait. Wait patiently until he was invited over again. Wait patiently until he could be with the Pharaoh.

Currently, the blonde was at lunch, sitting at the picnic table in the courtyard. Malik spent a lot of time at this table. He met up with everyone here before school if he wasn't running too late, he ate lunch here, he spent the nights here with the spirit of the Ring. He had the idea sometimes to carve his name into the wooden table top, pitch a tent over it, and just live here.

But then he would conclude that the idea was just absurd.

"Hey Malik, are you ok?"

Ryou whispered to him, the blonde was brought out of his thoughts of tent pitching and back to the real world of teenagers and their talk of a different kind of tent pitching.

"Porn doesn't judge you, it's just there," was the first thing Malik heard Jounouchi say when he came back to the conversation. He quickly ignored that and turned his attention to Ryou, who was sitting next to him. Worry painted on his soft face.

"Hm?" Malik blinked.

"You look tired," Ryou said quietly.

"Oh, yeah, I haven't been getting that much sleep lately," Malik said, it was half true. He had been napping during the day.

"Bakura hasn't been keeping you up, has he?" the white haired teen asked.

Malik shook his head, "He comes to visit me, but it's no big deal."

"Ok, just wanted to make sure you were alright," Ryou said, "And let me know if Bakura keeps you up too much. I'll tell him to stop."

Malik laughed silently, "Will do, thanks."

Ryou smiled. That sweet smile that could kill you... with rainbows and puppy dogs. Malik's lips almost formed themselves into a smile too, if it wasn't for the horrible, disturbing feeling twisting deep within him. He screwed his face into the best smile he could muster and quickly turned his attention to the rest of the group. Urging the twisting inside him to stop.

Ever since the first night with Bakura, whenever Malik focused too much attention on the white haired teen this feeling would wash over him. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, this twisting feeling he felt inside him scared him. He hadn't felt anything like that since... no, it couldn't be. He wouldn't _let_ it be. Never. Never again.

As long as he stayed away from thinking about Ryou the feeling wouldn't crawl inside him.

Not thinking about someone is quite difficult, however, when they are all over you.

Bakura was right about Ryou being madly in love with him. Malik found that Ryou always sat, or stood, next to him in group. He linked arms with the blonde a lot in the hallways of the school. Malik noticed that the boy twitched shyly sometimes, looking as if he was going to ask Malik a question... but then never does.

It was all very cute.

Malik never asked Ryou out like Bakura had told him to do. He didn't want to be with Ryou. He wanted to be with the Pharaoh. He never stopped the white haired teen from being clingy, though. There was nothing wrong with being friendly, right?

---(--)---

_Thursday._

"What did one snowman say to the other snowman?"

"What?"

"I smell carrots."

Malik shook his head at the spirit with a smile, "You are so lame."

"I like jokes," Bakura shrugged, flicking the butt of his cigarette out of his hand. It skipped and jumped over the concrete in the courtyard. This had become the nightly ritual for both the former tomb robber and his blonde haired friend. Sitting in the courtyard of the school, talking idly and smoking till some oh-my-god-hour in the morning. The moon was waning slowly, making the night air darker with each visit.

Little did Malik know that former tomb robber was using this time together to watch him like a hawk. They might not have spent that much time together, but the two had clicked from the beginning. Bakura knew when the blonde was acting weird... different. And that night, four nights ago, was one of them.

Given Malik's past, the spirit just thought it would be best to keep a close eye on him for the time being.

Bakura wondered if he should tell his hikari about what happened the first night he went to see the Malik, but then decided he didn't want to worry the boy. Besides, if need be, the spirit could always check Ryou's memories and feelings through their mind link. No, Bakura could survey the matter just fine on his own.

"How's that school thing going?" Bakura asked, just making small talk.

"Boring as hell," Malik sighed.

"Sounds like a load of bull shit to me," the spirit said, leaning back on the support of his arms on top of the table. "Didn't have any of this back in my day and I turned out just fine."

"Says the spirit of a murderous grave robber who got trapped in some gold jewelry," Malik laughed, "Now, there's a joke!"

Bakura shot the blonde a glare, "I'd watch it."

"Oh puh-lease! _Back in my day_," Malik mocked, "You sound like an old man."

The spirit glared harder.

"Oh no! Stay off Grandpa Bakura's yard! He'll get angry and beat you with his walking stick!" the blonde almost fell off the picnic table he was laughing so hard.

"I'm gonna beat you alright," Bakura grumbled.

Malik sat up and stuck his tongue out at the spirit, "Don't threaten me with a good time."

Bakura smirked, just what he expected from the blonde. Perhaps, maybe, the first night was just a fluke.

---(--)---

_Friday._

Malik's heart pounded loudly in his chest. His stomach fluttered almost sickeningly. The ground below him seemed to disappear as if he was walking on a cloud. He felt lightheaded, drunk with happiness. All because of one simple question.

_"Hey Malik, wanna come hang out with us after school?"_

Yugi had finally asked him the question he'd been longing to hear all week.

"Of course," Malik had answered, fighting back the happy dance that bubbled up inside him. This was not the time, nor place, for a happy dance. Seriously, who gets that elated from being invited to hang out?

And here he was, walking with the other teens in their group of friends towards the Turtle Game Shop. Malik didn't have an excuse this time to go home and prettify himself for the former Pharaoh, so they all walked together in their school uniforms. It was always nice to feel belonged, to feel a part of a group. But it was hard to focus on the topic at hand when your mind kept wanting to wander off. He did his best to stick with the train of thought, but boy was it hard.

It didn't take the teenagers long to reach the Game Shop. They were welcomed warmly by the old man behind the counter. Smiling, the group exchanged quick hello's before thundering up the stairs.

Malik's heart skipped several beats when they entered the living room and saw Yami.

"Are you not helping in the shop today?" Yugi asked as everyone took up space on the assorted chairs in the room, Malik remained frozen in the doorway.

The former Pharaoh shook his head, "I knew you had company coming over, so I was tidying up for you."

"You're the best, other me!" Yugi beamed, wrapping his arms around the taller version of himself.

Anger instantly boiled up in the pit of Malik's stomach as he watched the Pharaoh lovingly embrace his counterpart. No, keep a straight face. Keep control.

Why? _Why!?_

Why does Yugi get to be with the Pharaoh? _My Pharaoh_...

"Hey Malik, are you ok?"

Blood was pounding in the blonde's ears, he barely registered that he was being asked a question. He didn't even realize that he had fallen to his knees, fist clenched in his long locks, trembling.

"Malik?"

He took a deep breath, followed by two more before he was calm enough to look up again. Yami was kneeling in front of him, a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked him straight in the eye, his insides thrashed violently.

"What's wrong?" Yami asked sternly.

Malik looked away, "Nothing. Just... got a really bad headache all of a sudden."

The blonde stood up, holding his head. He didn't look at anyone else in the room, but he could feel all their eyes burning into him. He shook even more.

"I-I gotta get going," Malik choked out. He staggered back out of the room and down the stairs.

"Malik wait!" Yami called, following.

But by time he reached the stairs the bell on the front door to the Game Shop tinkled with Malik's hasty exit. And by time Yami reached the door the blonde was halfway down the street, running as fast as he could.

**---I think this story is giving me carpal tunnel. Seriously, I haven't written this much in like... ever!**

**Or at least not sense my Sophomore year of High School. O.o;; ---**


	8. Chapter Seven

**---This chapter is what made Chapter Four so tough. I've been trying to write Malik thinking about stuff without touching on certain thoughts so that when I actually got to this chapter it wouldn't be so repetitive. **

**I just hope this chapter isn't too confusing. xD**

**This stories getting good now, it's actually coming out a lot better then I expected it to. And that makes me happy. We're getting into the good stuff now. **

**ENJOY!---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Seven**

He couldn't breathe. His chest heaved painfully. His hands clenched tightly. His lungs burned with each inhale. His shoulders shook violently. The exhales came in choked sobs. Tears stung his eyes.

Malik had ran all the way home. He had to, he couldn't stop. He had to put as much distance between himself and the Pharaoh as he could. The blonde haired teen was now collapsed in his living room, struggling for air.

It was fear that drove Malik to run from the Game Shop. How could he have snapped that easily? He told himself to keep control, but then completely lost it. And why? He had seen the Pharaoh hug his counterpart when he was there before. It was nothing new.

_It should have been you._

Malik shook his head. He was finally able to catch his breath. He sat up on the floor and unclenched his fists. Looking down at his hands he saw that his nails had almost bit into his skin to the point of breaking. Thin red lines now formed on his tan palms. He was glad they had not cut further, he didn't think he could handle the sight of blood at the moment.

The blonde haired teen sat on the floor, staring at his hands for several long minutes until he was sure that his breathing had returned to normal. Picking himself off the floor, he stumbled further into the home. His legs felt feeble from the long run and lack of oxygen.

It was fortunate that the other members of the household were always at work during the day because there was no way Malik wanted to be around people right now. He needed sometime alone to clear his head.

Malik leaned in the doorway of his bedroom to steady himself. He was feeling very weak after the run, he wasn't out of shape or anything, anyone would feel drained after sprinting a crossed town like he did.

He was also feeling very warm.

The uniform jacket was peeled off and thrown to the floor, quickly followed by the undershirt that was now damp with sweat. Isis would regularly criticize Malik for stripping and leaving his clothes all over the house, but in his bedroom the blonde teen could toss his articles of clothing where ever he pleased.

Malik teetered over to the bed and flopped down on it. He was light-headed and felt... weird. His whole body felt eerily light, almost weightless upon the mattress. The room around him seemed to spin slowly, a sensation that only worsened when he closed his lavender eyes. His very nerves tingled.

What was going on? The question formed itself in Malik's mind. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Exhaustion washed over him like a wave. He couldn't move. His eyelids felt heavy.

It was only a matter of seconds before he gave in, closing his eyes and disappearing into his thoughts.

_It should have been me..._

_Why wasn't it?_

_I don't belong to the Pharaoh..._

_That's right._

_The Pharaoh will never be mine..._

_Why's that?_

_He already has Yugi..._

_Yes._

_I could never compete with him..._

_How so?_

_He's the Pharaoh's counterpart..._

_I see._

_Their bond goes beyond anything I could offer..._

_You poor thing._

_It's not fair..._

_Go on._

_Why should Yugi get everything...?_

_Why should he?_

_The Pharaoh should be mine..._

_Yes._

_My Pharaoh..._

_He will never be yours._

_Never...?_

_Look at you._

_Hm...?_

_You pathetic little thing, no one will ever love you._

_No one..._

_Face it._

_But... My Pharaoh..._

_Would never leave that slut for you._

_You're right..._

_Of course._

_I'm worthless..._

_Yes._

_Why do I even bother...?_

_It's oh so much fun to see you fail._

_My Pharaoh..._

_Hiss._

_All I want is my Pharaoh..._

_Does it piss you off?_

_Yes..._

_Look at Yugi, he has everything._

_Bastard..._

_And you have nothing._

_Why...?_

_The Pharaoh would never want to be with you._

_No..._

_You're weak._

_Yes..._

_Pathetic._

_Yes..._

_Worthless._

_Why would my Pharaoh forsake me...?_

_It makes you angry, doesn't it?_

_Yes..._

_Good, let me feel it._

_Fuck you Yugi..._

_Let me feel your hate!_

_IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!_

_Yes!_

_My Pharaoh..._

_Give into me._

_Wait... Who are you...?_

_You should know very well who I am... __**Omote.**_

Malik's eyes snapped open. He sat up with his fist clenched in his platinum hair as he let out the most blood curdling scream.

**---CLIFFHANGER! ... Oh, I'm so evil. He. He. He.---**


	9. Chapter Eight

**---This story is making me feel like I'm a full time writer. I get up, do stuff around the apartment, write, nap, write some more, hang out with friends, write some more, chill and watch old Nick Toons on my computer (Rocko's Modern Life anyone?), edit what I wrote that day, go to bed, end up writing another PAGE AND HALF before actually falling asleep. **

**I even have the mismatched argyle socks! (fifty points to anyone who get that reference)---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Eight**

_Boy what a day._ Isis Ishtar let out a loud sigh as she approached her home. It had been a Friday afternoon, practically the start of the weekend. The Domino Museum where she and her step-brother Rishid worked was busier then it had been all week. Rishid had been asked to stay over, the museum was still swamped with tourist and families out enjoying the cool weather while they can. Soon fall would be upon them full force, and it would only be a matter of time before they'd be facing the blistering winds of winter.

Reaching the front door, Isis reached into her purse to dig out her keys. It was in vain, however, because when Isis slid her key into the door knob she noticed that the door was already unlocked.

_Strange, _she thought to herself. They always kept the door locked, even when they were home. Just as a precaution, you know, to keep the crazy crack heads and stuff out. She figured her younger brother just forgot to lock it when he got home from school, he could be pretty spacey like that sometimes.

A thought that was erased from her mind when she opened the door.

Even without the Millennium Necklace she used during Battle City, Isis still had a heightened sense of psychic ability. She could read auras, and the air inside the home hung heavy. She could _feel_ that something wasn't right.

Isis cautiously stepped over the threshold and into the living room. It seemed eerily dark. Granted, dusk had fallen and there were blinds covering the windows in the living space... but still, it was a lot dimmer then it should have been. Isis closed the door behind her. A deadly silence fell over the home. She dared herself to venture further in. What was this presences she felt? She thought that she had experienced it somewhere before.

"Malik?" Isis called.

The air around her seemed to grow darker with each step she took. Finally she reached her little brother's room. The door was open and the room inside was pitch black. There was definitely something wrong. It wasn't like her brother to have his room like that. He hated the dark, he always had a light on. The ominous feeling Isis had grew steadily worse.

She called again, "Malik!"

"Ah, welcome home, _sister_," a voice filtered from the room. It was her brother's voice... but it wasn't at the same time. His tone was sneering, sinister, and all too familiar to Isis's ears. Her stomach dropped when he appeared in the doorway. His lips curved into a twisted smirk, his platinum hair stood on end, a near miss for a rats nest. Her brother's once lavender eyes were now shaded a deep violet. No, not her brother's eyes... this wasn't her brother.

"Marik!" the name came out in a shuddered gasp.

His face spilt into a horrible grin, showing off his pointed teeth.

"I'm pleased you remember me, _sister_," Marik drawled, "I was so sad that my weaker half had all but forgotten about me. But don't fret, _sister_, it didn't take long to... remind him."

His hands twitched, Isis saw blood on them. Fingernails had dug harshly into the palms. Marik licked his lips.

"Oh yes," he continued, "He succumb very easily. Barely even put up a fight. Not like last time. Perhaps he learned who the better half was."

Isis was lost for words, or maybe her brain didn't want to process what the blonde psychopath was saying. Either way, the only thing she could breathe was, "I thought Pharaoh banished you."

"Did he?" Marik asked with the air of someone inquiring about the weather, "My dear _sister_, I am not a spirit. You cannot banish something that's a _part_ of you."

He chuckled and leaned closer to Isis, "I am Malik."

"You are not my brother," Isis told him. Told herself.

Marik clicked his tongue, "It hurts so much to hear you say that, _sister_."

Isis hated the way he called her that. He made it sound like an insult every time.

"_You are not my brother!_" Isis shrieked.

Bloody hands grabbed her. She was slammed hard against the wall, framed art next to her crashed loudly to the floor. The noise seemed to echo through the quiet home. Isis couldn't help but let out a groan of pain as Marik held her tightly to the wall. He leaned in close.

"You're right, _sister_," Marik said, he seemed almost... serious, "Would your brother do this?"

Their lips met.

Isis's eyes widened further then they ever had in her life. As much as she wanted to tell herself differently, this still _was_ her brother. Her stomach churned, oh Ra, she was going to be sick. Marik's long tongue slithered out and pried Isis's mouth open. As his tongue explored her mouth hungrily, Isis had a fleeting thought to bite him. She discarded the idea though, because this monster that had taken over her brother would probably enjoy it, it wouldn't stop him.

Finally Marik broke the kiss.

He leaned in further and whispered into Isis's ear, "Incest is best."

Isis's mind tensed, while her body went completely numb. She fell to her knees when Marik let go of her. Isis was now facing his crotch, his arousal was evident. She looked up into his face, horrified.

"D-don't!" she begged.

"Don't worry," Marik ran his fingers through her hair, "I want somebody else, or should I say... they want me."

The blonde chuckled to himself. This didn't seem to comfort Isis at all. Marik glanced down into her eyes, he almost took his words back. A grasp of her hair, a quick unzip. He might not have a Millennium Item anymore, but it was all to easy to control people and bend them to his will. Screw the Millennium Tinny Stick, he had a better rod. And right now Isis was in the perfect position to...

Marik shook his head. No, not now. He had bigger and better plans for his rod. He'd come back to break this trollop later.

"I'm going out now," Marik announced, his fingers left her hair as he swept over to the front door, "Don't wait up for me, _sister_."

---(--)---

Ryou walked slowly through the streets of Domino, relishing the beautiful night that was unfolding as the sun dipped down below the horizon. One of the very few things he shared with the spirit of the Millennium Ring was a love of the night. As beautiful as it was outside there was still something in the air that seemed... foreboding.

..._it sure got dark fast..._

The voice in the back of his mind commented.

"It's fall, Bakura," Ryou said out loud, ignoring the strange looks he was receiving from passer-byers. He was all to use to strange looks being thrown in his direction, "The days always get shorter in fall."

The voice said nothing.

Ryou looked up at the thick clouds that covered the sky. He pulled his uniform jacket tighter around his thin frame. It had gotten much colder while he was at Yugi's, he had not prepared for the sudden weather change.

The white haired teen thought back to what happened at the Game Shop earlier that day. After Malik had left an awkward silence fell over the group. Nobody knew what to say or what to do. And really, what could they do? Chase the blonde down and tackle him into some ally? That didn't seem very... nice.

Not for the ragtag group of friends at least. So the subject was ignored and other, happier, subjects took it's place.

Ryou couldn't let it go though.

"Do you think Malik is ok?" he wondered out loud.

..._i don't know..._

The voice answered solemnly.

"You don't think..." Ryou trailed off. He was met with a stoney silence from the spirit, "I mean... this is the first time he's acted... strange... right? So that can't possibly mean..."

..._no..._

The voice said simply.

"What?" Ryou asked.

..._there was a time before, yandonushi, where I could tell that something was bothering him..._

Ryou's gaze fell sadly to the ground. He watched his feet as he walked. He had grown used to the spirit withholding information from him, but they had been so open with each other lately. It hurt to know that the spirit would keep something like that from him. The spirit must have sensed this because the next thing he whispered through the hikari's mind was:

..._I'm sorry I didn't tell you..._

"It's ok," Ryou smiled. He couldn't help but smile, the spirit had been changing so much lately. Everything had been getting better for the white haired teen.

The smile faltered quickly, however, something still tugged on his heart.

"I'm worried about Malik," Ryou whispered.

..._do you mind going to sleep early tonight?..._

Ryou bit his lip.

"Bakura?"

..._yes..._

"Please keep Malik safe."

..._I'll try, yandonushi, I'll try..._

**---I blame Ken for this chapter. And the Kaiba-cest we got going on xD---**


	10. Chapter Nine

**---I probably could have had up to Chapter Ten done by now, but my roommate has had friends over all week and I've been hanging with them. It's much to hard to focus on writing when there's so much going on around me. **

**I don't like this chapter too much. I donno. I cut a part of it out so I can use it in the next chapter... and so this one just seems... shorter then it should be.**

**P.S. in case people don't know "yandonushi" means Landlord, which is what the spirit of the ring calls Ryou in the manga. And "Omote" means Surface... I used that for Malik in _My December_ and just decided to carry it over.---**

**Chapter Nine**

Isis pounded frantically on the door. She then stood on the doorstep, shaking like a leaf while she waited for any sign of life to emerge from the depths of the Game Shop. Oh please, Ra, let somebody be home, please be home. She was shuddering for two reasons, one was that it was cold out and she, too, had not prepared for the sudden weather change and two, Marik was back and had scared the, for lack of a better word, shit out of her... and that was never a good thing.

Please, please, please, please. She pounded on the door again.

At last the door opened and she was greeted by a kindly old man.

"Miss Ishtar!" he sounded surprised, "What a pleasure to see you again! It's been a long time!"

"Like wise, Mr. Motou," Isis said with a short bow, always formal, even when there was a crisis that was about to spin out of control, "I hate to bother you at such a late hour, and I don't mean to be rude, but is the Pharaoh home?"

"Ho ho! Yes of course, he and Yugi are upstairs right now," the old man laughed, "Come in! Come in!"

Isis quickly thanked the old man and followed him up to the living room where the two counterparts were spending their Friday night together watching a movie. Yugi was cuddled up the Pharaoh on the couch, Yami's arm draped lazily over the boy. Isis couldn't believe that just months ago these two souls shared the same body. They looked so peaceful right now, and she felt bad for having to disturb them.

"Yami, you have a visiter," the old man said, getting their attention. Yami frowned and Yugi sat up straight when they saw the look on Isis's face.

"My Pharaoh," Isis bowed low before them. Yugi stopped the movie while Yami stood, going to Isis's side.

"Miss Ishtar please, there is no need to bow to me," Yami told her, "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Isis looked up at the Pharaoh and felt tears come to her eyes. Where would she start? Her head fell when she thought back to what had happened. Yami knelt by her, rubbing her back comfortingly. There was just something about the Pharaoh, it was hard to hide your true emotions around him, so Isis closed her eyes, tears flowing silently from them.

"This has to do with your little brother, doesn't it, Miss Ishtar?" Yami asked.

Isis looked up at him, stunned, "How did you...?"

"Something happened when he was here earlier," Yami said grimly.

"Marik's back," Isis whispered, horror painted on her tear streaked face.

"I was afraid of that," Yami stood, holding out his hand to her, "Come sit on the couch, Miss Ishtar."

Isis took the Pharaoh's hand and followed him to the sofa, sitting down next to his counterpart. Yami remained on his feet, pacing. Yugi looked between the two, concerned. He was reminded of how scary it had been last time the dark half of Malik took over. He subconsciously bit his lip in worry.

"I don't understand how this could have happened again," Isis buried her face in her hands.

"Have you been noticing him acting peculiar at home at all?" Yami asked.

"No," Isis looked up at him through her fingers, "He's seemed perfectly fine. He's been getting up for school, he'd do his homework before we'd get home from work. He's been going out with Ryou every night. He's sounded like he was happy... happier then I've ever seen him before... this sudden change just... it doesn't make any sense."

"No it doesn't," Yami stopped pacing.

"Do you have any ideas on how to stop Marik?" Isis asked hopefully. The Pharaoh had been able to contain Malik's other personality before, but the circumstances of the dark half's return were significantly different then last time.

"I don't," Yami answered honestly. Isis's face disappeared into her hands again, "But I have an idea of someone who might."

Isis wept quietly.

"Don't worry, Miss Ishtar," Yami sat down next to her placing his arm over her gently trembling shoulders, "I will do everything I can to get your brother back."

---(--)---

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away...

... Not really.

The spirit of the Millennium Ring was lurking in the shadows of the Ishtar's residence. When he had first approached the house it almost looked like no one was home. Where would they be? Bakura wondered as he stalked around the back, to the blonde's bedroom window.

This didn't prove to calm the spirits nerves any.

The window was closed. The room on the other side of the clear glass was inky. A lot darker then it should have been. Bakura knew the blonde hated to out at night because of the dark, there was no way he'd have his room so black.

The spirit pushed against the window. It was locked. He pressed his face against the glass, trying to see if he could pick out any form of life in the near jet-black room. Nothing. Bakura growled as he pealed himself off the window and returned to the front of the house. Where the fuck could that boy be?

Reaching the front door, Bakura slammed his fist impatiently against the hard wooden surface. It didn't take long for Rishid to answer the door. Ah, Rishid, the Ishtar's step-brother. With his deep, booming voice, and his ever glaring eyes, and his hard face. The spirit didn't blame him, and thought that he'd probably look that disgruntled too if he had to take care of Malik's whiny ass his whole life.

"Master Ryou," Rishid greeted.

"Heya Cue-ball," Bakura grinned. Rishid glared at him, it was quite menacing and Bakura might actually had been scared if, you know, he possessed that emotion. But the spirit also didn't care, he was sick of people mistaking him for his host. Could they not tell the difference? Ra, he hated this body sometimes.

"Can I help you?" Rishid asked, he sounded very agitated. Perhaps this was not the best of times to push his buttons.

"Yes, I am inquiring about a certain blonde haired brat, you might know him as _Malik_, would he happen to be available at the moment?" the spirit asked.

"Master Malik is not home at the moment," Rishid answered.

"Not home?" Bakura was confused, he figured the blonde would have come home after he left the Game Shop, "Where the fuck is he?"

"He and Miss Isis have been away since I returned from work," Rishid said.

Bakura raised an eyebrow, no wonder he was so irritated, poor bastard, being left here alone. It didn't make any sense that Malik wasn't home though... where else would he go? Well it could be plausible, the spirit guessed, that the blonde went out somewhere with his sister.

"I see," he growled, "Well when Malik gets home tell him Bakura's waiting, he'll know where to find me."

The spirit didn't wait for a reply, in an instant he turned away from Rishid, slinking back into the shadows, and out of sight.

**---Just a side note, I had Isis say that Malik had been going out with "Ryou" every night to add to Yugi's assumption that the two are together. Isis would have seen Malik sneaking out with the white haired boy at night and just assume that it was Ryou and not Bakura, just like Rishid thought Bakura was the host as well.**

**There's actually many assumptions going on that are causing key events to happen... I haven't really touched on that being a vital plot point other then the summary... I hope everyone is understanding it. Hmm...---**


	11. Chapter Ten

**---So I spent all of last week on a business trip to Retail Hell, where I spent three days working open to close running between working on 40+ boxes of shipment, replenishing the store, helping organize the back room (that was PILED with clothes), working the floor, helping people find sizes, running the register, helping the other employees with the registers, and doing odd jobs for my boss. **

**It was fun, and extremely... hell. xD **

**It also left me completely drained and it took me forever to finish this chapter. But it's done now. **

**I can't wait for the next chapter, hehehe---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Ten**

_...wake up, wake up, wake up..._

Bakura's voice echoed through Ryou's mind in an unnaturally sing-song tone.

"Shut up," the teen groaned, "I'm working on it."

Ryou rolled over... he was in his bed? It had been so long since the spirit let him sleep in his own bed. The hikari just ended up snuggling deeper into the warm cocoon of blankets around him. He never wanted to move.

That and his bedroom air had became very chilly over night.

"Go close the window," he yawned to the spirit, "It's too cold in here."

..._love to, yandonushi, but I seem to be trapped in this fucking body..._

Ryou grumbled. He threw the blankets off nonetheless. The white-haired teen sighed as the frigid air hit his now exposed pale skin. He rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed, relishing the feel of the soft carpet under his feet. Ra, how he missed this. He wiggled his toes and stood up, addressing the window issue.

Sliding the glass closed, Ryou paused to look out at the icy morning. It was amazing how the seasons can change without much notice. It felt like only yesterday it was a blistering hot summer day, and now it was too chilly to go out without covering up and most all of the leaves had turned from green to shades of yellow and orange.

It would only be a matter of time before winter was upon them.

"How was Malik?" Ryou asked, not taking his eyes off the window.

_...no idea..._

The voice answered. The host almost caught a hint of sadness in the spirit's words.

"What do you mean?" the white-haired teen asked, "I thought you went to see him last night."

_...I did..._

The spirit said simply.

"And?"

_...he wasn't home..._

Ryou frowned out the window. He wanted to know how his friend was doing, he didn't want to hear that the blonde had gone MIA.

_...I waited for him half the night and he never showed..._

The voice continued.

_...I went back to his house hours later and there was still no sign of him..._

So that's why the spirit let the hikari sleep in his own bed. Just because a friend had disappeared... what a price to pay.

Finally tearing his eyes from the window, Ryou slipped on some clean clothes, a creamy sweater and blue jeans, and padded off to the kitchen for breakfast. He was thankful that today was Saturday or else he would have over slept. The spirit was very diligent about returning control over to him with enough time to get ready for school. He never needed an alarm clock.

Ryou opened the fridge and looked in on its contents. It was pretty full, but nothing seemed to really appeal to him. The freezer was checked next, and proved to be less fruitful. Ryou sighed and went through the cupboards. Nothing still. Hunger was churning in his stomach, but the thought of food just made it feel worse. He concluded that it was still too early to eat and that he'd come back and survey the kitchen again at lunch time.

As the white-haired teen stepped between the kitchen and the living room, a knock sounded at the door. Ryou blinked in confusion a few times, he was not used to visitors. He walked over to the door and looked out the peephole. The Pharaoh. That was more unexpected than the knock itself. Ryou opened the door a crack and stuck his head out.

"Hello?" he greeted meekly.

The Pharaoh smiled, "Hello Ryou, could I trouble you with a chat with the tomb robber?"

_...what the hell does he want?..._

The voice hissed.

"Did he do something wrong?" Ryou asked, his hand instinctively went to his chest, the Millennium Ring hiding safely under his sweater.

"No," Yami said, then he added a second thought, "Not yet at least, I just want to talk to him."

"If he's not in trouble," Ryou lowered his hand, "Then why?"

"Marik's —"

The switch of control between hikari and spirit was so quick it almost made Bakura's head spin.

"— back."

"Marik?" the spirit growled, "What do you mean he's back?"

"What do you think I mean, baka tomb robber," Yami scoffed. Damn that Pharaoh, he could always tell the difference between the spirit and his hikari.

"No!" Bakura hissed, "He can't be back!"

Yami gave the tomb robber the most serious look he had ever seen, "Why would I lie about this?"

"I don't know!" Bakura blurted out turning away from the Pharaoh, pacing around the room in a storm, "It... it just can't — No!"

Yami stood silently in the doorway watching the spirit throw his tantrum.

"Are you done yet?" The Pharaoh finally asked.

"Why the fuck are you here?"

"I feel idiotic for asking you," Yami folded his arms over his chest, "But I need you to help me get rid of him."

"And why would I help you?" Bakura scoffed.

"Well I figured that since you two are friends, or partners, or fuck buddies, or whatever, that you'd know why he's back and how to make him go away."

Bakura laughed, "I'm not friends with that psychopath!"

"And that's not like the pot calling the kettle black," Yami muttered.

"Actually, there's rhyme and reason to everything I do, while Marik just wants to watch everyone suffer," the tomb robber said, "And personally, I see no gain in this for me, so I'm going to kindly ask you to go fuck yourself."

"Damn it, tomb robber, you are the most selfish —"

"Goodbye Yami," Bakura said sternly, cutting him off and closing the door in his face. The spirit watched the Pharaoh storm off through the peephole.

"I don't need to help the Pharaoh," Bakura grumbled to himself, "I can take care of Malik's dumb ass myself."

**---I'm sorry, all I heard was "Blah blah blah, I'm a dirty tramp."---**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**---Sorry this chapter took me so long. I was actually trying to get this out sooner, considering that I had already written the second half of this chapter before I even STARTED the actually story. This is what made me write the story.**

**But between work, my roommate from College visiting for the week, fucking up completely, and getting the worst review I've ever gotten... Writing was kinda the last thing I wanted to deal with at the time.**

**It wouldn't have been so bad if that review I got hadn't had also been for this story. It kinda crushed my hopes and dreams because I've been pouring EVERYTHING into this story. It is my baby. And getting a bad review on something I've been working so hard on... really hurts.**

**But I'm determined to see this to the end. I'm not abandoning it like I have other projects -cough- **_**The Note**_** -cough-**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Eleven**

Dark storm clouds hung heavy in the sky. _How very fitting,_ Marik thought to himself as he leaned against an oak tree just outside the front door to a small apartment complex. His violet eyes flashed towards the door, he was waiting, rather impatiently. He had other engagements he needed to attend.

The door flew open.

Ah, about time. Marik slipped behind the tree and out of sight just as an all too familiar tri-haired teen stormed out. The blonde clicked his tongue, silly Pharaoh. His sister must have ran to him for help. Damn him, always sticking hi pompous ass in other people's business. This didn't concern him...

_Yet._

Marik grinned at the disgruntled look on the Pharaoh's face, apparently things weren't going well for him. Once Yami was gone Marik slid his hands into his pockets and casually walked up to the apartment, perhaps his audience with the tomb robber would go better.

---(--)---

Large brown eyes blinked dazedly, shaking off the mental whiplash. Ryou looked around, taking stock of the situation now that he had control again. Yami was no where to be seen and he felt a strange feeling from the spirit inside him that he couldn't quite place into words. He almost seemed... disgusted.

And the last thing Yami had said... _Marik_.

"Bakura?" Ryou asked quietly.

The voice grunted in response.

"What did Yami want?"

Ryou already knew the answer to the question. He knew the spirit knew he knew. But he needed to hear it for himself to believe it.

..._it doesn't concern you, yandonushi..._

His thin frame quivered. The relationship between the spirit and hikari had changed so much over the past couple weeks, yet there was still a fear deep inside Ryou that the spirit would revert back to his old self if he put too many toes out of line.

He pressed his lips together before continuing, "I thought we were going to be more open, Bakura."

The voice said nothing.

He closed his eyes before pressing foreword, "Please tell me."

If the spirit had been in control of the body he would have sucked air into his lungs and let out a loud sigh before speaking. There was a slight pause before _this_ filtered through the hikari's mind:

_...Marik has taken over again..._

Ryou winced visibly. That stung his heart more then he thought it would.

"I thought he had changed," Ryou said sadly, "I thought this wouldn't happen again."

_...he has changed..._

The voice said.

_...but Marik will always be stronger..._

This didn't comfort the hikari... and neither did the strange scratching from the door. It sounded like someone was running their fingernail in circles over the hard surface. Ryou's heart pounded loudly in his chest as he looked towards the entrance.

..._let me get it..._

"Go ahead," Ryou nodded, grateful to have an escape from the fear that was washing over him. The teen's mind once again fell into his hibernation state as the spirit of the Millennium Ring assumed control. Bakura gripped the door knob and threw the door open harshly. He wasn't at all surprised to see Marik standing on the other side, one long extended from where he was caressing the door. The spirits eyes narrowed and the blondes lips curled into a sinister grin.

"It's been a long time, Tomb Robber," Marik drawled, "Don't look too happy to see me."

"Spare me," Bakura scoffed.

"Is that any way to great an old friend?" the blonde asked, pushing past the spirit and into the home.

"We were never friends," said the spirit.

"Come now, I like to think any friend of my omote is a friend of mine," Marik said, looking back at the former tomb robber. That statement seemed almost... genuine.

"Was there something that you wanted, Marik?" the spirit asked.

"You sure made the Pharaoh mad," Marik said, completely ignoring the question.

"I seem to have that effect on him," Bakura shrugged, "It's a wonder why he even bothers coming around here anymore."

"Do you wish you had that effect on me?" Marik asked.

"Yes," the tomb robber growled.

"Do you want know what effect you _do_ have on me?" the blonde's grin showed off his sharp teeth. Anger flashed over the spirit's eyes but he kept his body calm, struggling to keep his breathing even and not have each exhale come out in loud growls.

He clenched his jaw and hissed, "What do you want, Marik?"

"Nothing," the blonde shrugged, heading back towards the door. He abruptly stopped and looked straight into the spirit's eyes, "Actually, there are a few things that I want..."

Marik slowly backed Bakura against the door as he spoke. He had both hands on either side of the spirits head.

"Chaos, destruction... I want to break something," the most sinister grin spread over his lips, "Or _someone._"

A new wave of fear crashed over Bakura. He wasn't used to such an emotion, but there was just something in the insanity that burned in the blonde's eyes. It took all of his strength to keep from trembling under that gaze.

Marik leaned in closer to the spirit. There lips were millimeters apart. Bakura could feel them brush together as the blonde spoke in a hushed whisper.

"That hikari of yours..."

Bakura went ridged, "Ryou."

The hikari's name fell so sadly from his lips. The spirit looked up into Marik's eyes. They were glazed over, his lips twitched into another smile. Bakura could only imagine what was playing out behind those violet orbs.

Marik regained focus and looked directly into Bakura's fearful eyes. His words dripped with lust as he drawled; "I bet his screams sound like music."

Bakura snapped and the next thing he knew he and Marik were on the floor. Straddling the blonde's waist, a feral, animalistic cry tore from the spirit's throat as he attacked him. Hitting, scratching, clawing... there was only one thought on the tomb robber's mind. He wanted to kill Marik. He wanted him to suffer, he wanted him to hurt. He wanted the blonde's blood on his hands. How dare he think he could hurt his host. His hikari! Bastard! Bastard! _BASTARD!_

While the spirit's rage blinded him into such a savage assault, Marik still gained his senses. Strong tan hands gripped Bakura's pale wrists as Marik held the spirit so he could no longer strike. Bakura seethed, glaring down at the blonde with wild eyes and clenched teeth. Marik's violet orbs laughed at him.

"My my," the blonde chuckled, "This certainly is fun."

Marik lifted his hips. Bakura froze again when he felt how... well, let's just say _excited _Marik was to be in this position.

"You've got a lot of fight in you, tomb robber," Marik smirked as panic crept over Bakura's face again, "If I can't have Ryou, I'll have to take you instead."

Bakura was paralyzed with fear. He couldn't move, he couldn't think. He could only sit helplessly on Marik as the blonde's words filtered through him.

"Oh... to break the mighty King of Thieves... I might come just _thinking_ about it," Marik moaned, lifting his hips again, grinding himself against the spirit, "Tell me... will you beg for me to stop?"

Bakura didn't respond, he only shifted away from the blonde. Marik sat up and crawled over to him.

"Your hikari will beg," Marik said, caressing Bakura's cheek with one long finger, "He will beg, and plead, and cry for me to stop. But I won't... I'll never stop."

Bakura knew this. He knew that Marik would not stop, even long after Ryou's throat was raw from screaming, his eyes were dried up and red, unable to shed a single tear more, his broken and bruised body lay in a pool of blood and...

Still Marik would not stop. He'd take the boy until there was nothing left, and even that wouldn't cease the sadistic blonde's actions.

Bakura was so lost in fear that he barely registered that Marik was no longer near him. The blonde stood in the doorway with a disturbing smile as he watched the spirit.

"It was nice seeing you again," Marik said with the air of old friends meeting for lunch after a long absence, "Make sure you tell everyone I said hi."

With that, the blonde was gone, the door closing swiftly in his wake. Alone, Bakura fell into a huddled mass on the floor and did something he had never done before.

He wept.


	13. Chapter Twleve

**---For the first time in a couple chapters I'm actually completely happy with this chapter. **

**I don't have much to say about it actually other then that. **

**P.S. I've recently seen-slash-read Twilight, and I stand by how it's described later in this chapter. **

**Uhh... fluorescence! (Pretty boy storm off!)---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Twelve**

The dark clouds that hung in the sky finally gave way. Rain drops pounded the pavements and rooftops in a roar. Yami was seated by the window, gazing absentmindedly at it. The glass had been well drenched, little drops of water still clung to the transparent surface, making the world outside all but impossible to see.

"I hope we don't lose power."

The Pharaoh blinked when he heard Yugi's voice. He turned to his counterpart, who was snuggled up on the couch watching a movie, with a stoney expression. Yugi frowned.

"You should come watch the movie, other me," the small duelist said, "Maybe it'll help take your mind off everything."

Yami sighed, "How could I possibly do that when I know that... _psychopath_ is out there."

The Pharaoh's jaw clenched as he glared out the window again. Yugi watched him for a second before he silently bowed his head. His gaze fell unto the carpet below him, but he wasn't looking at anything in particular. Once Yami's anger subsided he looked over to his counterpart and saw the sadness in his large eyes.

"I'm sorry, Aibou," the Pharaoh stood from his seat by the window and joined Yugi on the couch.

"It's ok," Yugi said quietly, "I understand."

He leaned into his counterpart. The Pharaoh instinctively wrapped his arm around the boy. A small smile graced Yugi's mouth as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the Pharaoh's scent. He loved it. All at once the world seemed a lot calmer, even with the storm still beating the wall around them. And yet, there was still something that tore at the teens heart.

"I wish there was something I could do to help," Yugi mumbled into the Pharaoh's chest, praying his tears wouldn't escape his still closed lids.

"Aibou," Yami said sternly, "Shhh, don't talk like that."

"But, other me!" Yugi sat up, tears falling freely from his eyes. He didn't care anymore.

"As Pharaoh I have a sworn duty to protect everyone," Yami explained, looking straight into the boy's face, "Above all, that means you."

"That doesn't mean you have to do it alone," Yugi protested.

"Yugi," he used the boy's name to let him know he was being completely serious. Yugi looked surprised and a little taken aback by it. The Pharaoh touched his hand softly to the boy's cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb, "You know how dangerous Marik is, and you know what we went through last time. I can't put you through that again."

Another tear was wiped away.

"I couldn't bare to lose you, Aibou."

"Ok, other me," Yugi sniffed, "I understand."

"Good," Yami nodded, lowering his hand, "Now, what movie are we watching?"

Yugi glanced between his counterpart and the television before grinning sheepishly.

"Twilight," he finally answered.

Yami shook his head and chuckled, the boy's newest obsession. It made Yugi happy, so Yami had to endure it. After all, as far as fads go, it could be worse... Actually, no, he took that back, there was nothing worse. It was the bottom of the barrel for teeny-bopper fads. Nonetheless, Yugi liked it, so Yami had to pretend to like it too.

As the two counterparts settled down, turning their attention to the movie, a bolt of lightening flashed, lighting up the whole room. It was closely followed by a roar of thunder loud enough to shake the house and...

"Do you hear knocking?" Yugi sat up again, looking around. The Pharaoh's brow knitted together as he snatched the remote off the coffee table and paused the movie, listening. The faint sounds of someone pounding on the Game Shop door below filtered up through the storm. Grandpa had already gone to bed, so Yami jumped to his feet.

"Please stay here, Aibou," he urged. But Yugi was already on the Pharaoh's heals. As they descended the stairs the knocking became more fervid and impatient. Yami was the first to reach the door, the dead-bolt clicked as he unlocked it and another flash of lightening illuminated familiar white hair and ivory skin as the door swung open. Yugi froze halfway down the stairs.

The figure leaned in the doorway. He was completely drenched with cold rain. Yami noted that he wasn't wearing a coat or shoes. His head was bowed, even under the cover of the awing, water trickled down from his long locks. His soaked long sleeved t-shirt clung to his chest. His shoulders trembled softly.

The Pharaoh's breath caught in his throat, and he gasped, "Ry--"

The figure raised his head, Yami looked into his dark eyes.

"Bakura?" he corrected. The Pharaoh noticed that his eyes were red and puffy. Had the King of Thieves been... _crying?_ "What happened?"

Bakura opened his mouth as if to speak but all that came out was a strangled sob as he fell to his knees just inside the doorway. The tears that streamed down his face were masked by water that dripped from his bangs. His whole body shock almost violently as he cried.

Since the end of the Battle City tournament the Pharaoh had been trying to smooth out his relationship with Bakura but, despite his best efforts, the spirit remained as stubborn and pigheaded as ever. And now that Bakura was here, his show of emotion obviously asked for help, Yami was at a loss as to what he should say or do. He stared at the tomb robber with wide eyes, never in his wildest dreams had he seen Bakura act this way. He couldn't even fathom what could have set him off like this.

Thankfully Yugi was on the ball. He had rushed back up the stairs and returned with a blanket. The small duelist cautiously approached the tomb robber, gently placing the blanket over his shoulders. Bakura froze and shot Yugi a piercing glare, his red, soggy eyes making it all the more menacing. Yugi threw his hands up, showing he meant no harm and retreated back a few steps.

Bakura sighed and wiped his eyes on his damp sleeve, turning his attention to Yami. The Pharaoh had extended his hand to him. Bakura took the offer and allowed Yami help him to his feet. The blanket that Yugi gave him slipped off his shoulders as he stood, he grabbed it quickly and quickly and wrapped it around himself. He shivered, the wet fabric cold against his skin.

"I'd offer you a pair of dry clothes," Yami noted, "But I fear that neither me nor Yugi own anything that will fit you."

The Pharaoh was glad when Bakura nodded in agreement. After all, he was being completely serious, the tomb robber was a good five inches taller than Yami and, though they were both quite slender, Bakura's hips and chest were bigger compared to the Pharaoh's petite, boyish physique.

Yugi quietly closed and locked the front door again as Yami placed his arm around the spirits waist, leading him towards the stairs.

"Come on," he said.

The three of them padded soundlessly back up to the living room where Bakura settled silently onto the couch, blanket still clutched tightly around him. Yami perched on the edge of the arm chair, while Yugi took up residence on the floor by his feet. The counterparts waited for the tomb robber to speak, knowing it was not wise to push him, especially in this fragile state. The air in the room hung heavy.

"Ryou."

Yami's attention snapped to Bakura when he finally spoke. The spirit sat with his head in his hands.

"My hikari," Bakura spoke softly, "He wants my hikari."

"Marik," said Yami.

Bakura made no movement toward acknowledging that the Pharaoh had spoke, but he continued.

"He showed up just after you left. He's worse than before and he wants my hikari. He wants to..."

The spirit trailed off, there was a pause as he sniffed loudly and brushed away a few more tears.

"He wants to _break_ my hikari," he finished.

Yami felt Yugi go ridged beside him at Bakura's words. He could imagine what was going through his counterpart's mind, and knew that, if Marik got the chance, whatever he would do to Ryou would be ten times worse then anything Yugi's innocent mind could think of. Outrage washed a crossed the Pharaoh. He understood now why Bakura reacted this way to Marik's visit, he almost seemed cavalier compared to how Yami felt he would have handled a threat like that towards Yugi.

"Does Ryou know about it?" Yami asked.

Bakura lifted his head to the Pharaoh.

"No," the spirit shook his head slowly, a few rogue water droplets splattered down onto the blanket from his hair, "When I take over the body his mind falls into a sleep like state. He remembers nothing of when I'm in control."

"Ah," Yami nodded. That explains a lot.

"I don't want him to know either," Bakura dropped his head again.

"He has the right to know, tomb robber," Yami said.

"Like hell he does!" the spirit snapped.

The Pharaoh held his tongue and didn't argue.

"Look," Bakura sighed, "You don't know my hikari like I do, and I know this will just upset him. We're going to take care of that jackass, and I'm going to take care of Ryou. There's no need to worry him for no reason."

Yami was taken aback when Bakura had said '_we're'_, and he knew that if they were going to, in fact, work together that he would have to respect the tomb robber's wishes.

"Right, he's you're hikari so you get the call the shots." Yami said, "We won't tell him."

"Damn straight," Bakura said.

Yami nodded again, glancing out the window.

"Well, I believe it's safe to say that there's nothing more we can do about the situation tonight and it doesn't look like the rains going to let up anytime soon," he said, Bakura blinked at him, "Obviously, you're not dressed for such weather, so you are welcome to stay as long as you like."

Bakura adverted his gaze and didn't respond. He did, however, pull the blanket tighter around his body. Yami figured that meant the spirit was staying. Yugi grabbed the remote and un-paused the movie, even though they were all lost in their own thoughts and no one paid the slightest bit of attention to it.

Seventeen minutes and twenty-two seconds into the movie Bakura spoke again.

"Thank you."

Yami turned to him, surprised. Bakura was staring straight at him.

He quickly looked away and muttered, "Stupid Pharaoh."

Yami grinned, even with the insult he knew Bakura had been completely sincere.

"You're welcome," and he didn't even bother to mutter, "Idiotic tomb robber."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**---Hm, further proof that this story is a monster. This chapter doesn't even cover the main point it was supposed to, instead it created a mind of its own and went in a totally different direction. But I'm ok with that. **

**And do you all remember that fourth person mentioned in the prologue? Well those were all the main characters and plot points of the story and with just now getting to that fourth person.... Thirteen chapter in. xD**

**I guess this puts at about half way. Or not. I'm not sure how long it's going to be if chapters keep going like this. Points touched on in this chapter needed to be touched on. Plus, it gives me an AWESOME cliffhanger this way... and I love cliffhangers. ---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Thirteen**

As Sunday morning rose over Domino all traces of the storm that washed over the city were gone, save for the droplets water that still clung to the grass, making it shimmer as the sun that finally broke through the clouds. It was very deceiving, for even though it looked almost springy out, the temperature, at best, was still quite chilly.

And Seto Kaiba knew this as he pulled on the black, long sleeved, turtleneck. With a sigh he glanced vaguely at the mirror, running his fingers through his still damp hair trying to get it to lay still, before sweeping quickly out of the bathroom. He was running a bit late, but being the teenage CEO of a multibillion dollar gaming corporation, he was used to such things.

The air around the Kaiba mansion was quite tranquil this morning. Because it was still so early Seto was one of the only ones awake. A few of the live-in servants had been summoned to make breakfast, which was thinking about skipping now, and bring the limo around to take him to Kaiba Crop.

On his way out, Seto paused by this little brother's room. He quietly opened the door and peeked in on him. Mokuba laid on his side, eyes closed peacefully. His long black hair cascaded down his pillow, sticking out here and there, he would have a serious case of bed head once he got up. Seto almost felt a twinge of guilt for having to leave this morning without saying goodbye to his younger brother, but as he moved the close the bedroom door a small voice called to him from inside.

"Big brother?" it asked sleepily.

Seto looked back and saw that Mokuba's eyes were now open.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" the brunette asked quietly.

"No," the youngest Kaiba sat up and shook his head, "What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm on my way to the office."

Mokuba's face dropped significantly, "But it's Sunday."

"I know it is," Seto sighed, "But I have a big presentation tomorrow and I just need to finish up a few things for it."

Mokuba's head hit the pillow again. Another twinge shot through Seto's heart.

"I swear I won't be long."

"Okay, big brother."

Mokuba closed his steal blue eyes, Seto closed the door.

The CEO sat solemnly in the back of the limo, staring blankly out the window the entire time. He hated going back on his word to his little brother.

Between going to High School, like a normal teenager, running Kaiba Corp., and raising a family Seto was juggling more at sixteen then most adults do. Finding time for just himself and Mokuba was very difficult. His younger brother was worried that he'd get burned out if he kept up like he had been, so he made Seto promise that he'd take every Sunday off to relax. Yet even with the promise, with so much on his plate Seto never found any time to rest.

He was also doing it all under the scrutinizing gaze of the media vultures who were all to ready to tear you to shreds at the smallest mistake... the slightest hiccup.

Seto had been so lost in his thoughts that he barely registered that the limo was now parked outside Kaiba Corp. and the driver had opened the door for him. The CEO climbed out of the vehicle with a short nod to his driver before entering the tall Kaiba Corp. building that towered over most of Domino.

He was completely unaware of the violet orbs that were watching him intently.

---(--)---

The spirit of the Millennium Ring growled as he awoke. There was a laundry list of reasons to be annoyed this morning: his clothes were still damp from the night before, the couch on which he had been sleeping on was very uncomfortable, the bright sun was streaming down into his face, there was a dull throbbing in his head that he could probably attribute to over sleeping...

But probably the most annoying thing about waking up was that he was once again reminded of the events from the night before, and the fact that he was still at the blasted Pharaoh's house.

The couch springs groaned softly as Bakura sat up, stretching his sore muscles. Opening his eyes to the bright room, however, only made the pain in his head worse. The spirit rubbed his temples slowly, willing the pain to go away.

"Ah, you're finally awake, tomb robber?" Yami asked as he walked past the couch.

Nope, Bakura's headache definitely wasn't going to be going away today.

"What time is it?" the spirit grumbled.

"Almost noon," Yami answered.

"What!?" Bakura roared, jumping to his feet, "You let me sleep almost half the day away? Why in Ra's name didn't you wake me sooner?"

"I figured after last night you could use a good nights sleep," the Pharaoh said, his eyes narrowing a bit at Bakura's outburst.

"I don't give a fuck," Bakura growled, "I shouldn't be here sleeping when Marik is out there doing who knows what!"

Yami pressed his lips together in a thin line, "You might not care, tomb robber, but I'm sure Ryou does."

Bakura shot him a look.

"Mentally you might not need rest," Yami continued, "But physically that body is not your own, and I don't want you to harm Ryou's body."

The spirit rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

"Also," Yami said, walking away from him and toward the bedroom he shared with Yugi, "It's getting colder out, so you'll probably want to run and get a change of clothes, and possibly some shoes."

Bakura glanced down at his damp clothes and bare feet. He had been so out of it last night that he didn't even realize that he'd left the apartment without shoes.

"Fine, fine," he scoffed, storming down the stairs to the Game Shop below.

A few minutes later the Pharaoh also descended the stairs to find the tomb robber still standing by the door.

"Uh, Pharaoh?" Bakura said as Yami approached him, the spirit shifted uncomfortably before speaking again, "Could you come with me?"

Yami blinked at him a few times.

"Look, I don't want to hurt Malik, but after last night," Bakura swallowed loudly and adverted his gaze away from from Yami, "I just..."

Bakura swallowed again, the lump in his throat growing, "I just don't know if I'll be able to control myself if I run into him right now..."

Yami nodded, "Alright, I'll go with you."

---(--)---

The two spirits walked silently through the streets of Domino. The bright afternoon sun dried Bakura's clothes quickly, but did very little in the way of warmth. He pulled his shirt tightly around himself, it was days like this that made the tomb robber miss his homeland of Egypt. With it's blazing sun and warm sand between his toes, instead of the bitter cold concrete below his feet now.

"Do you ever miss Egypt?" Bakura voiced.

"Sometimes," Yami answered, tilting his face up towards the sun.

Silence fell over them again.

"Do you think that's what set Malik off?" Yami asked after awhile.

"What?" Bakura had already forgotten what they were talking about.

"Moving here," Yami clarified, "Perhaps leaving Egypt wasn't the best thing for him."

"Oh please," Bakura snorted, "And letting him go back to that Ra forsaken place to rot alone would have been the _better_ option?"

"I just don't know what could have set him off," Yami sighed, "Yugi's said he's been doing fine at school, Isis said he'd been normal at home... He's out of the dark... He's dating Ryou... I just —"

"Wait," Bakura almost stopped in his tracks, "What in Ra's name did you just say?"

"Malik's dating Ryou?" Yami repeated in confusion.

"What the bloody hell!?" the tomb robber exclaimed.

"You didn't know?" the Pharaoh raised an eyebrow.

Bakura laughed at this, "Trust me, I know _everything_ that goes on with this body. I'm just wondering where you came up with something that outrageous."

"Well Isis mentioned that they were going out every night," Yami's eyes narrowed again, "So I just assumed..."

"Well you know what happens when you assume," Bakura grumbled, "It makes an ass of you and me."

Yami was greatly regretting his decision to accompany the tomb robber to his apartment.

"And for your information, I was the one going out with Malik every night," Bakura spat, "I'm so sick of people getting me confused with that boy."

The Pharaoh rolled his eyes this time, "Of all the things to complain about."

"I told that whiney bitch to ask my yandonushi out," Bakura chose to ignore Yami's comment, "But he never did."

"Why didn't Ryou ask Malik out instead?"

"Are you kidding?" the spirit shook his head, "That boy was too shy to ask Malik over to hang out, let alone ask him on a date."

"Oh..."

"The two of them belong together," Bakura said, "Neither of them have a spine."

"So that means Malik's not with anyone?" Yami blurted out. The images from a few days before revisited the Pharaoh... the blondes flushed cheeks... the mental images of him writhing beneath him... if Malik wasn't with Ryou, perhaps it would still be possible... if only it wasn't for Yugi...

Bakura shot him a sidewise glance, "Why does it matter?"

"It... no reason... it doesn't matter at all..." the Pharaoh stammered.

Bakura raised his eyebrows skeptically, but also chose to ignore this and instead announced that they had reached his apartment building. Yami had been so lost in his new thoughts that he had completely forgotten why they were out. He opted to wait outside while the spirit went inside to change. The Pharaoh wanted to this time alone to clear his head, it it was fruitless.

The images of Malik played over and over in Yami's mind making it hard to concentrate on anything else, and the two spirits walked back to the Game Shop in stoney silence.

---(--)---

"Mr. Kaiba?"

The secretary's voice broke through the soundless office. Seto looked up from his papers to the intercom on his desk. He reached out and pressed a button with a long finger.

"Yes, Ganeen?"

"Your brother is on the line," the secretary said, "He is wondering when you'll be coming home."

The CEO sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Late afternoon was already upon him and he still had so much work to do.

"Tell him it's going to be a little bit longer," Seto said to the intercom.

"Will do, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto couldn't help but smile as he clicked the intercom off. His secretary's voice was so light and airy that she could brighten up any dreary day. She really was one of the best he's had in a long time.

Seto spun around in his desk chair to face the large window in his office. From here he could look out over the whole city. The sun was in the early stages of setting, and the twinge in Seto's heart worsened. He had spent the entire day in this damned office when he should have been home with his brother. It was then that Seto decided to just forget what work he still had to do, and to go home instead.

He spun back to his desk and flipped the intercom back on.

"Ganeen," Seto spoke as he gathered up and organized the papers on his desk, "Call Mokuba and tell him I'm on my way home."

The CEO stood and filed the papers away.

"And have them bring the limo around," he finished. There was a pause in which he waited for an answer from his secretary.

His stomach dropped a couple notches when none came.

"Ganeen?" he called, but still no answer.

Something was wrong. He had never known his secretary to disappear like this. The CEO crossed the office in a few quick strides and threw open the door. It was then that Seto nearly jumped out of his skin, because on the other side of the door stood a well known, spiky haired Egyptian, with a wide grin plastered on his face.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba," Marik chuckled, "But Ganeen seems to have... _stepped out_."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**---I think I'm writing myself into a corner... is that a good thing?---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Fourteen**

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba," Marik chuckled, "But Ganeen seems to have... _stepped out_."

A cold chill washed over the CEO. He quickly pushed it away with a deep breath, he had to keep his composure... but there was just something about the look in the blonde's eyes... Seto had to take another deep breath before speaking.

"What did you do with her?" he asked, trying hard to keep his words even.

"Now, now," Marik drawled, "I believe you have bigger things to worry about than that pretty little thing."

Seto stood stunned for a moment while he tried to fathom what the blonde could have done with his secretary in such a short amount of time. Marik took this moment to slip past the CEO and into his office. Seto slowly turned and watched Marik poke around his office.

"Nice..." the blonde breathed, settling into Seto's desk chair.

"What are you doing here?" Seto finally asked. Marik turned to him with a serious face, laughter burned in his violet eyes though, and his lips twitched into a smirk as he spoke.

"I thought you might ask that," he said.

"And are you going to answer?" Seto growled.

"Well, Kaiba, you were there last time I had control of this pathetic body," Marik turned away from the CEO and towards the window, gazing out over the city, "And how I was thwarted by that insufferable _Pharaoh_..."

Marik trailed off with a growl.

"Yeah," Seto grumbled, he was annoyed by the mere presences of Marik, "What does that have to do with me?"

"Oh, Kaiba," the blonde turned to face him once again, "It has _everything_ to do with you. I've decided to try things a bit differently this time... yes... your company will do nicely," his grin widened significantly, "It used to make _weapons_ didn't it?"

"Like hell!" Seto snapped, advancing on Marik, "There's no way I'll ever let that happen again, especially for the likes of you!"

"I don't think you'll have a choice in the matter," Marik chuckled. Seto was now standing over him, "Not even you are strong enough to resist the powers of the Millennium Rod."

"Didn't your other half give that to Yami after he banished you?" Seto said triumphantly.

"Ah yes, that did happen, didn't it... I'll just have to find some other way of controlling you..." Marik mused, "How about your little brother?"

Marik must have touch a nerve because he was punched hard in the face by the CEO. The desk chair clattered noisily as the force knocked him over onto the floor. He could feel the warm blood gushing from his nose, he enjoyed the pain that ran through him... it excited him even more. Licking the blood off his lips, Marik pushed the desk chair away from him and looked up at Seto. The brunette breathed deeply through clenched teeth, his hand still balled in a fist, ready to strike again.

"My my, I didn't think it would be this easy," Marik chortled, licking away more of the crimson that trickled from his nose.

"If you even _think_ about hurting my brother!" Seto seethed, "I'll... I'll...!"

"It's much to late for that, Kaiba," Marik said, "I've already thought about _plenty_ of things I could do to him..."

Seto couldn't take his eyes off Marik's, the violet orbs bore into him as he spoke. The blonde seemed so distant... his voice was so far away even though they were so close.

"You can imagine it, can't you Kaiba," Marik drawled, "His wretched screams... his pitiful body shaking in pain... Ouf!"

The blonde was kicked this time. Seto's foot collided straight with his abdomen. Marik sputtered and coughed as the wind was knocked out of him, but the smile that graced his lips never faded.

"Yes, Kaiba, feed me your hate, you know it only makes me _stronger_," Marik laughed, despite the fact that he was still doubled over, clutching his stomach.

"Listen you," Seto growled, he gripped Marik's collar tightly and pulled him up so he could look directly into his eyes. The insanity that danced within those violet orbs didn't scare him one bit. He kept his voice even, but he still managed to put all his passion into each hate filled word, "You don't mean a thing to me, you got that? I don't give a fuck about you... or Malik. And if I ever find out you've hurt my brother in any way, I will not hesitate to kill you. I fucking mean it."

The blonde's grin only widened, "I look foreword to the challenge."

Seto threw him back to the floor, hard. Marik twitched, pulling himself onto his feet.

"Well, Kaiba, since you're going to be so difficult," Marik showed his first signs of being angry, "I'm just going to have to get my Rod back, and then you'll be all to easy to deal with."

"Get the fuck out of my office," Seto said simply, crossing his arms over his chest. Marik scoffed at him, but stormed out of the office nonetheless.

---(--)---

The Game Shop was as silent as the grave. Nobody felt like talking, even if they did there was nothing to talk about. Bakura sat on the couch with a permanent glare plastered on his face as he watched Yugi follow the Pharaoh from room to room as if they were attached at the hip. It sickened the tomb robber, how could they spend so much time together? He was so glad his stupid hikari wasn't like that. Though, he guessed he was probably worse off anyways to still be trapped in the _same_ body as his stupid hikari.

Bakura's attention snapped to the right when the phone rang. He glanced eagerly at the contraption that was sitting on the end table next to him. He had seen Ryou use this thing before... but he had never figured out how to use it himself. After ringing a second time Yami breezed into the room and sure enough, Yugi wasn't far behind. The smallest of the two answered the phone just after the third ring.

"Hello?"

Yugi held the phone slightly away from his ear so they could listen as the familiar voice said, "Why do you always insist on dragging _me_ into your 'let's take over the world!' nonsense!"

"Kaiba?" Yugi asked right before the phone was snatched out of his hands.

"Was Marik there?" Bakura asked quickly, holding the phone upside down.

"Yes," Seto answered sharply.

"Hold on, I'll be right there!" Bakura threw the phone down and scampered for his shoes. Yami picked the receiver up.

"Is he still there, Kaiba?"

"He better not be," Seto growled, "I sweat if I ever see him again I'm going to fucking kill him!"

"I don't think--"

"_He threatened my little brother!_" the CEO yelled so loud into the phone that Bakura heard it in the doorway. The tomb robber stopped and looked back at the phone in Yami's hand.

"Oh I'm going to fucking kill that Ishtar myself!" the white haired spirit shook his head, anger flashed in his eyes.

"Wait," Yami said forcefully before Bakura could take another step, the Pharaoh looked back at the phone, "Are you sure he left?"

"I would say so," Seto said, "He didn't seem very happy with he left."

Yami guessed from Seto's disgruntled tone that neither of them were very happy about this meeting. He relayed the message to Bakura, "Kaiba thinks he's already gone."

"Damn it Kaiba! You couldn't have kept him there five minutes! Why the fuck did you let him go!" the spirit ranted, pacing the doorway.

"Tomb robber, shut up!" Yami snapped.

"Hey losers!" Seto called through the phone getting the Pharaoh's attention again, "As much as I'd love to henpeck with you ladies all day, I need to get home and make sure that _fucktard_, hasn't done anything to Mokuba."

"We need to talk, Kaiba," Yami said, Seto grumbled on the other side, "Is it alright if we come over?"

"Oh fine, whatever."

Yami was sure he could _hear_ the CEO roll his eyes over the phone.

"Bye," was all Seto said before hanging up. Yami replaces the receiver back in the cradle on the end table and looked to Bakura.

"To Kaiba's?"

Bakura huffed and leaned in the doorway, "Whatever."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**---I didn't think I'd have this chapter done this soon... or it would be this long. I'm very happy with it. I absolutely love my description in this chapter. And there's actually one paragraph in here that I wrote before I even started writing this story. It's always been my favorite and I'm so happy I finally got to this chapter so I can use it.**

**It's always an iffy thing with me when I start writing a long story like this, whether I'd actually finish it or not, or just how far I'd get in it. But I have to say for myself that this is the best thing I've ever written, and I'm determined to see it too the end.**

**The day I finish this story will be a very happy day, second only to June 14th, 2009. ---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Fifteen**

Dusk was falling fast, the sun was setting behind the Kaiba Mansion that towered over them. The two spirits stood outside the front door in awe of the home they were about to enter. Compared to Bakura's tiny apartment and the Game Shop this was the modern day equivalent to peasants visiting the Pharaoh's palace for the first time.

It didn't take long after Yami rand the bell for a snooty butler to appear. He graciously bowed them in and announced that Master Kaiba would meet them in the library. He then led them out of the foyer and down a long hallway that carried them deeper into the Kaiba Mansion.

Bakura looked around quickly as they walked, the images tortured his eyes. Being a tomb robber in his former life he had a certain appeal for nice things. None of the tombs in Egypt, however, could even compare to Kaiba's house. His fingers twitched, he wanted to take it all.

They entered the library.

The awe that the pair felt only deepened when they saw this room. It was almost surreal, like a scene from a movie. The walls were lined with dark hard wood bookshelves that were ladened down with every type of book imaginable. It was dimly lit when they arrived by a fire that cackled warmly in the hearth on the far side of the room. The butler swept around the room flipping on a few lights and motioning them to the oversized couch. The two spirits seated themselves on the couch to wait for the CEO.

Bakura bit his lip, trying to restrain his natural instincts. Yami looked around the room with wide eyes before settling them on the white haired spirit sitting next to him.

"I knew Kaiba had money, but I guess I never realized just _how_ much money he had," he whispered.

Bakura face only twitched, there were way to many thoughts running through his mind to respond to the former Pharaoh. he crossed his arms tightly over his chest, a strange feeling crawling under his skin. He had to be good, there was no point in betraying Seto's trust now, it could mean missing out on his chance to apprehend Marik. He had to do it fast before his light, or anyone else, was harmed. Not that the tomb robber cared about anyone else... but what Marik would do to them given the chance... nobody deserved.

At last one of the other doors in the library opened with a flourish and in waltzed Seto Kaiba, as if he own the place. Which was fitting because he _did_ own the place. His already engorged ego seemed ten times worse within the confines of his own home. The room was instantly stifled with self-rightousness. The CEO glared coldly at the two spirits as he sat down in the arm chair a crossed from them.

"It's... uh... good to see you again," Yami said timidly after a few intensely quite seconds.

"I wish I could say the same of you," replied Seto.

Bakura's facial features twitched again, his eyes a perfect match of the brunettes. Hold your tongue, do not go off on him.

"Yes well, it is a rather unfortunate circumstance that brings us here," Yami said offhandedly.

"That's putting it mildly," Seto scoffed.

"Well you know what, Kaiba," Bakura couldn't hold it in any longer, "We wouldn't be here if you could have kept Ishtar in one place for five _fucking_ minutes!"

"If he had stayed there any longer then he did he would have dead long before you could even _think_ about coming to get him," Seto snapped back, "Is that what you wanted?"

The tomb robber's glare deepened, his jaw clenched. He wondered how much the Pharaoh would object if he just killed Seto off right now. Probably a lot.

"Can we just calm down," Yami tried to intervene, this was neither the time, nor the place for bloodshed.

"No, I don't want to calm down!" Bakura channeled his anger toward the Pharaoh instead, "I want that Ra damned freak show stopped!"

"Well yelling at Kaiba isn't going to help any," said Yami.

"Shut up Pharaoh!" Bakura growled, "I don't even know why the fuck you're here. So far you're the only one that Ishtar _hasn't_ threatened."

Yami's eyes narrowed now, "Malik is just as much my friend as he is yours, so please can we handle this rationally."

"Fine," Bakura huffed, slumping back into the couch.

"Thank you," Yami nodded, turning his attention to the CEO, "Now Kaiba--"

"Look, I don't give two shits about Malik," Seto interrupted, "Or you two, frankly."

"I understand that," Yami sighed, these two were infuriating, "But working with you is the easiest way for us to catch him."

"Why do you waste your energy on him anyway?" Seto asked, "You go through all this effort to 'save' him and what does he do? Turn around and put you though all this shit again."

The two spirits looked at the CEO with blank stares.

"I really don't see the point," Seto finished.

"Well no, I wouldn't expect you to see the point, Kaiba," Yami blinked, "You've never had friends."

Seto frowned at the former Pharaoh, if there was one thing he hated most it was the way Yami constantly preached at him about all this friendship nonsense. After all, he'd made it this far in life without having to depend on somebody else, without needing to feel that closeness with another human... why would he want to start now?

"What if it was your brother?" Yami asked, "Wouldn't you want to do anything to help him?"

The brunette didn't answer, but the expression on his face said it all. Yami had hit the nail on the head.

"Right," he nodded again, "Now we should get down to business so we don't have to take up too much of your time."

"Too late for that," Seto muttered.

Yami ignored his comment, "As for Marik, what would he want from you anyway?"

"The same thing everyone wants from me," the CEO shrugged.

"You're house," Bakura mused, he hadn't even been paying that close attention, this was obvious because his gaze was focused somewhere towards the ceiling.

Seto and Yami shot the former tomb robber a look. Bakura noticed it and blinked.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Anywho," Seto elongated the word, rolling his eyes back to the Pharaoh, "He wants my technology."

"What would Ishtar want with a bunch of games?" Bakura asked.

"Before I took over the company, Kaiba Corp used to make military equipment," The CEO explained, "Weapons, _thats_ what he wants."

"Since he couldn't destroy the world with ancient power, he's going for a more modern approach," Yami gasped softly.

"I guess," Seto sighed, "God damn it why do I always get dragged into this stuff."

"I'm very sorry about all this, Kaiba," Yami said.

Bakura snorted, "How does that ignorant Egyptian think he can you use your technology? He can barely figure out how to use the microwave!"

"His Millennium Rod," Seto said simply.

"What!" Bakura sat up straight. He glared sideways at Yami, "You gave him the Rod back!?"

"Of course not," Yami exhaled.

The tomb robber was surprised to find that he was trembling. If Marik was to get the Millennium Rod back... no, he shouldn't even _think_ about that.

"Where is it?" Bakura asked quickly, "What did you do with the Rod?"

Yami raised an eyebrow at him, "Why do you care?"

The white haired spirit growled at him, was he serious?

"How do I know you and Marik aren't working together," the former Pharaoh said.

He was fucking serious!

"Pharaoh..." Bakura's voice was dangerously calm.

"You stay at my house one night and you expect me to trust you with something like that?" Yami shook his head, "Only me and my Aibou know where the other Millennium Items are hidden, and it's going to stay that way."

"Fine! Whatever!" the tomb robber threw up his arms in aggravation, "I just want to know they're safe, if Ishtar gets his hands on--"

"I _know_ what'll happen if he gets the Rod back," Yami grumbled.

"Are you two done babbling?" Seto asked, glaring at them again, "What are we going to do about that blonde bastard?"

"Well its safe to say that Marik is either going to go after Kaiba Corp. again or the Millennium Items," Yami said, "So we just have to watch both and wait for him to show up."

They all seemed content with that.

"Tomb robber, you can stay and watch over Kaiba," Yami nodded, "I can handle watching the Items by myself."

"Why do I have to stay with fancy pants?" Bakura exclaimed.

Seto grumbled.

"Because there's no way in Hell you'll ever be in charge of the Millennium Items," Yami glared, "Do you have a better idea?"

"No," Bakura sighed, defeated.

"Good," the Pharaoh stood, "Now I should be getting back, I don't like to be away from Yugi too long, it worries him. You two have a good night, and let me know if anything develops. I'll just show myself out, thank you, Kaiba"

The CEO and tomb robber rolled their eyes in synchronization as Yami swept out of the library leaving them alone.

"I guess this means you'll be staying the night," Seto sighed as the white haired spirit also rose to his feet.

"Not tonight," he said quietly, "I'm sick of you people, I just want to be alone."

"Why did he leave you to watch me if you're not even going to be here?" Seto sneered.

"I'm sure you'll be fine for the night, Kaiba," Bakura said, "I'll be at Kaiba Corp. in the morning to watch you."

"Great," the CEO grumbled as the tomb robber exited the library as well.

---(--)---

Darkness had fallen fast outside. He loved it. Nighttime was his favorite part of the day, it made him feel so... alive. He grinned, he would never understand why his other half was so afraid of it. But no matter, where he was he didn't have to worry about the dark... or anything else...

Marik shifted, leaning himself back against the trunk of the large willow tree he was sitting in. This was the perfect spot, the limb under him wasn't too uncomfortable, and the leaves masked him well, especially now that the sun had dipped down below the horizon, shading the world in the shroud of black that followed just after twilight.

He could watch the Kaiba Mansion for hours from this spot and nobody would ever see him. He knew this for a fact because that's what he had been doing since he left Kaiba Corp. Even somebody as keen as the tomb robber could walk right by him without a second thought.

He wanted to laugh, it was too easy.

The blonde had saw the two spirits enter the mansion and later observed that Yami left all by himself, closely followed by Bakura. Though they were all alone at the moment, there was no doubt that all three of them were working together. Everything was going according to plan. Even with the three of them in cahoots there were still three different possessions that were in danger. Marik knew that they wouldn't be able to keep track of all of them for long... something had to give.

And until then he would bid his time.

**---By the way, "The room was instantly stifled with self-rightousness." is pretty much the greatest sentance I've ever heard, lawls ---**


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**---So... it's only been what? A month and half since I updated this story. It's actually been that long since I WROTE anything. Bah, I've been busy being sick lately. That and my new boyfriend (yes, Laria actually has a boyfriend -shock shock!- ) lives in Buffalo, NY... so I've also spent a lot of time the past month or so visiting him, and having him come here. **

**Oh yeah, I also recently turned 21. **

**A lot has been going on! But not to worry because my muse it back! With a vengeance!**

**This chapter actually has to be split into two chapters because of it's length (the first half is seven and a half pages). It works out better this way though, it gives me more time to focus on the second half, and it won't be so rushed. Plus you won't have to wait as long!**

**I'm really happy with how this plot line is developing, this was one of the things I struggled with the most. Enjoy! --- **

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Sixteen**

It was dark and cold. A small flame flickered slowly in the middle of the room, it's dim light fell upon the stone walls. Light... was there even such a thing? Even this flame seemed so dark to the frail figure huddled in one of the corners of the room. He always felt so small here, forever the ten-year-old boy he used to be. Trapped, alone... the four stone walls seemed to close in on him as time dragged on. Time? The concept seemed almost as impossible as light to him.

A cold wind blew over him. He glanced up at the black void above him. There were no windows in this room, no doors. Only these four walls and a single thought.

_Malik Ishtar wanted to die._

Another figure materialized in the opposite corner of the room. His grin was as cold as the wind that breezed over Malik's bare arms.

The teens gaze lowered to the visitor, regarding him quietly through his sunken eyes. It was himself. His mirror image. Dark and twisted... everything he feared. Violet and lavender eyes were glued to each other, the shadows on the walls seemed to take on a life of their own as the flame danced wildly between them, threatening to extinguish.

"Don't go out," Malik pleaded softly. He didn't care if he died. He didn't care if everything was destroyed... to lose this flame... to be lost in the darkness... it was the one thing Malik couldn't stand.

The flame obeyed and stilled, lazily waving in the chilling breeze.

"You are a pathetic little thing," Marik chuckled, his voice almost seemed to echo in the small room, "Still holding on to that small bit of light when you know deep down that all hope is lost."

Malik bowed his head, adverting his gaze to the stoney floor below him. Marik crossed the room in a few fluid strides. He knelt down in front of the boy, grasping his chin tightly and forcing him to look into his violet eyes. Once again the flame went crazy as Malik trembled lightly in the hands of his stronger half.

Marik paused for a moment, relishing the look of fear in those soft lavender eyes. It was the most beautiful thing Marik had ever seen. Then again... anyone with that look painted on their face was beautiful to the blonde.

"You know those _friends_ of yours are very determined."

Malik jerked, a sparkle seemed to light in his eyes, just for a second before they returned to the dull, dead look they once held. Friends. He almost snorted in laughter himself. He knew nothing of the sort. Even if he could call Yugi and them... _friends_... would they be able to return the favor now?

"They won't when I get through with them," Marik chortled. The smaller blonde had forgotten that his thoughts were an open book in here. "Just knowing that they think they have any chance of stopping me this time will make it that much more enjoyable when I _break_ them."

Malik had never seen such a look as the one dancing in Marik's eyes now. A dangerous mix of animalistic hunger and psychotic glee. It sent a visible shiver down Malik's spine.

"Oh but don't worry omote," Marik stood up, turning from the teen, "All you need is this light, isn't it?"

Malik squeaked as the taller blonde spat at the small flame in the middle of the room, nearly missing it. He shot one last look back at Malik before disappearing through the wall, the sound of his laughter echoed round the room.

"Don't go out," Malik cried beseechingly, pressing himself further into the corner, "_Please..._"

---(--)---

_Monday._

Seto entered the office and glanced around the office with narrowed eyes. Wasn't that blasted tomb robber supposed to be here? That was what they decided. Neither the white haired spirit nor the body he possessed showed up to school today, so Seto assumed that he was here... but from the looks of it he was wrong on that account. The CEO rolled his eyes as he thought about how unreliable Bakura was.

"Why me?" Seto asked himself out loud as he slumped down into his desk chair. He looked over the paper work on his desk. It almost looked like a foreign language to him. It was so hard to concentrate on anything knowing that Marik was out there... and what he wanted.

He ran his hand through his brunette hair, sweeping his bangs out of his face. No, there was no way he was going to let his company suffer because of that bastard. Ok, focus, papers... you know these papers.

"It's very cozy down here."

Seto blinked when he heard the muffled voice. He cautiously peeked down under his desk. Suddenly he jumped out of his chair with a shout, "_Bakura!_"

"Hey Kaiba," Bakura answered.

Seto stood staring under his desk where the white haired spirit was currently curled up. The CEO's eyes narrowed again.

"What are you doing down there?"

Bakura shrugged, "I bet you put your secretaries down here and make them..." Bakura grinned up at Seto, "You know..."

"No, I don't," Seto said pointedly, though there seemed to be a hint of sadness behind his words, "I'm not attracted to any of them..."

"Ugos?"

"I'm gay," Seto glared.

"Oh really?" Bakura asked as he crawled out from under the desk, "I never knew that."

Without notice a shocked expression came over Seto's features.

"You can't tell _anyone_ I said that!" he gasped.

"Shy, huh?" the spirit chuckled, settling himself in the desk chair.

"No," Seto scoffed, "But if the media got a hold of something like that... it... well it wouldn't be very beneficial for the company."

Bakura rolled his eyes, "Well I don't care if your gay or a pedophile or whatever."

"That's awesome," Seto sighed, "Coming from a necrophiliac."

"Woah!" the spirit growled indignantly, "I may be twisted and all, but fucking dead people... That's sick!"

Seto was taken aback by Bakura's unexpected outrage, "Sorry, you're a grave robber... I just assumed..."

Bakura exhaled loudly.

"That's alright," he muttered through clenched teeth, "I assumed that the CEO was straight and forcing secretaries under his desk to gratify himself... so we're even."

"Good," Seto nodded, then blinked, "... I think."

The white haired spirit merely shrugged and moved over to the black leather love seat that was usually used for business meetings, giving the CEO back his desk chair. The brunette took it graciously, and knowing that Bakura was there allowed Seto to relax enough to finally focus on his work. The two sat in silence for the majority of the afternoon. The two had very few things in common and had never "hung out" before, which didn't leave much to converse about. Plus, the CEO had spent much of his time at Kaiba Corp today scurrying in and out of the office between presentations and answering the phone (Ganeen was still missing) so what little time Seto did get to spend inside his office wasn't going to interrupted by trivial babble with the former tomb robber.

As the sun began to set behind the buildings that scattered the horizon outside the large office window Seto found himself able to sit and rest for a moment while he typed up a report. His fingers glided over the keys as gracefully as a skater over fresh ice. Without warning, without even acknowledging it, his long fingers paused, resting silently one the keyboard, unwillingly his thoughts had drifted back to the conversation earlier. He stole a quick glance at Bakura... he was the utter portrait of boredom. He twiddled his thumbs as he stared idly off into space. Seto sighed, wondering what the former tomb robber was thinking.

Wait... what?

Seto slapped himself mentally. What was wrong with him? First he let slip his most deepest secret, and now wanting to know what the white haired spirit was _thinking_? He never thought of such things before. The confrontation with Marik must of shook him up more then he realized.

The CEO shook his head and returned to his report. Well... after taking another peek in Bakura's direction of course.

---(--)---

_Tuesday._

Bakura stalked through the halls of the Kaiba Mansion. Part of the agreement of watching over the CEO and his company also meant looking after the youngest Kaiba. There was one thing Bakura was sure about, it was the Marik would stop at nothing to obtain what he wanted, and he didn't care how many, or who, he had to hurt in the process. And if he was after Kaiba Corp., Mokuba would be the prime target.

Since Bakura couldn't be in two places at once, Seto sent extra bodyguards with his brother while he was at school and alone in the mansion. It was night that they were must worried about, thats the time that Marik thrived. Considering that Bakura was just a spirit he didn't need to sleep, so it would easy for him to watch over Mokuba and Seto.

Currently the two Kaiba's were getting ready for bed. Bakura was taking this time to explore the mansion. The former tomb robber felt small... almost wrong for being in these exquisite halls. He spent his whole life among the sands of Egypt, and most of his after life either trapped in the Millennium Ring or the head of teenage boy. He had never known anything as wonderful as this.

The white haired spirit paused outside one of the doors in the hall. The door was open just a crack, but Bakura could hear the two figures inside talking quietly. Without bothering to knock Bakura slowly pushed the door open, neither of the occupants of the room seemed to mind. The spirit leaned over the threshold, watching curiously. Seto was sitting on his younger brother's bed conversing with him about his day.

Seto had really surprised Bakura over the last few days. When he was alone or with his brother he didn't act all like the cold hearted asshole that he was when he was in public. The spirit almost wanted to condemn the CEO for being so fake... but then he thought back to the world he'd been witnessing, and perhaps Seto wasn't so mean because he wanted to be, but because he _had_ to be. Perhaps the same could be said of most millionaires, how they seem stuck up and selfish for spending all their money on multiple cars and golden toilets instead of donating it to charity. But if you donate to one charity you have to donate to them all. Where could you draw the line? Everyone would be knocking at your door asking for handouts if you came across too nice.

Bakura could relate.

Not to the money and handouts, but to not being able to show his true self. He swore revenge on the Pharaoh for destroying his entire village... but that didn't make him al all bad person. He still held a soft spot for those close to him... Ryou... and Malik. Just like Seto and his brother.

The bed springs creaking as Seto stood pulled Bakura out of his thoughts and back to the real world. He moved out of the doorway and back into the hallway as Seto approached him.

"Goodnight, little brother," the eldest Kaiba said, grasping the brass knob.

"Night!" Mokuba peeped before the door closed swiftly with snap.

In the hallway, Seto and Bakura stood staring at each other in silence. The former tomb robber's dark brown eyes probed deep into the watery blue eyes before him, as if trying to read through all the fronts and walls and layers the CEO had put up. Seto, however, seemed less interested in figuring out the inner workings of the spirit. His brow furrowed as he turned, heading to his bedroom. Bakura followed.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Seto asked, not even breaking his stride.

"Everything," Bakura said, "Go to school, run Kaiba Corp., and still manage to have time for your brother."

Seto's eyes narrowed, "It's not like I have a choice."

If Bakura had a normal sense of people he would have realized that he had touched a nerve, but lacking that, he pressed on.

"It's no wonder you're such an asshole," the spirit shrugged offhandedly.

"Excuse me?" Seto shot a sideways glance at Bakura as they were now walking side by side down another hallway.

"Well it's easy for anyone to be a douche under that much stress," Bakura explained.

"I guess," sighed the CEO.

"Ah, I hate this happy rainbows and puppy society anyways," Bakura said with a roll of his eyes as they climbed the stairs to the highest level in the mansion, "It's so stupid."

"Some people like to be nice and help out others," said Seto in the same tone as a politician lying about lowering taxes if they are elected.

"Are you one of those people?" Bakura asked.

Seto paused for a moment before answering, "I help the people I'm close to."

"Yeah," said Bakura, "Me too."

They walked the rest of the short distance to Seto's bedroom in silence. The CEO had moved ahead of Bakura once again. The spirit watched his long, slender, body as he padded quietly to his room. Even now he had a regal air about him, in he quest to achieve perfection in the media's eye he'd lost the ability to be a normal flawed human when he was alone.

Seto came to a sharp halt outside the last dark mahogany door. Bakura, who had gotten lost in his thoughts once again, would have plowed right into the brunette had he been any closer. As Seto opened the door the white haired spirit glanced inside the room, and to the large king sized bed as the light from the hallway flooded over it. Oh the things he could do to Seto on that bed.

Bakura blinked. Where the hell did that come from? He tried to shake it from his head, but it was too late, the unwanted comment had already fallen from his lips.

"I bet it gets lonely in a bed that big."

The CEO replied solemnly, "Sometimes."

He then sighed and looked back at the spirit. Straight into his deep brown eyes.

"With everything I've got going on I have no time for love," he said, Bakura could tell from the tone of his voice that he wasn't used to being this open, "And with being gay and in the public eye... I'd have to just hide the relationship anyway."

"Perhaps you just need to find somebody willing to hide with you."

Seto quickly looked away, the spirit almost though he saw a light pink tint on the CEO's cheeks. He thought nothing of it until the next thing that came out of Seto's mouth.

"Have you ever been in love?"

"No," Bakura answered, but there was something different about it. It almost seemed... sad. There was a feeling bubbling up inside him that he couldn't place. It felt strange, new... exciting. Seto was looking at him again. The fluttering in his stomach only worsened.

"I guess I shouldn't be so surprised to hear that," Seto said quietly, his face was definitely reddening this time.

"I spent my whole life trying to avenge my village that the Pharaoh destroyed," Bakura shrugged, he tried to be nonchalant about it, but, even after three thousand years, thinking about what happened at Kuru Eruna was still like ramming a sharp dagger through his heart, "I don't think I was capable of something like love. And now..."

The tomb robber trailed off, he was surprised about how open he was being with the CEO... and that they were discussing a topic like this at all. Seto was watching him intently.

"And now?" he inquired.

"I'm a spirit trapped inside a golden ring," Bakura continued, "I don't even have my own Ra forsaken body. Not exactly great boyfriend material if you ask me."

"I guess we have more in common then I thought," the brunette said as he turned away, facing the bedroom. Just from the sound of his words Bakura could tell that his face had fallen. The spirit's insides started to twist again as an eerie silence fell over them. He didn't like the idea of Seto being sad, but he didn't know what to say at the moment.

He felt the words on his lips, but he couldn't quite bring himself to say them.

"Well I should be getting to bed, I suppose," Seto said finally, his back was still turned to the spirit.

"I'll go check on Mokuba then," said Bakura, not even thinking.

"Ok," the CEO's face had fallen significantly more, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Right," Bakura shrugged as Seto stepped into the bedroom, flipped on the light, and closed the door... not once looking back at the spirit.

Said spirit sighed and headed back down to Mokuba's room. He got about halfway down the first hall before realized his vital mistake.

"Ra damn it," he cursed quietly, glancing back towards the last door in the hall, "I'm such a dolt."

**---Silly Bakura, tricks are for kids.---**


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**---October 25th, 2002. A young authoress sits down in her first period class, Reading Lab. The class she had to take because she had basically failed English the year before. She was fourteen, with an obsession for a children's card game, and the fan fiction that went with it. She reaches over into her bag, pulls out a single subject notebook and scribbles down a very rough draft of what someday would become a very long, and popular story: "Whose Line is it Anyway".**

**Seven years ago today I started writing. It was the greatest thing I've ever done. I don't know how I would have gotten through the years without having this amazing outlet. There's nothing better then knowing that I've entertained somebody with my stories.**

**Ok, I'll shut up now, here's the next chapter, sorry about the wait!---**

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Wednesday_

The world was upside down. He felt a pressure growing in his head as all the blood rushed to that particular area. He was starting to get a headache. He closed his eyes for a couple seconds, then opened them again slowly, looking around the room without moving his head. Everything looked so weird from this direction.

A pair of legs walked in front of him and paused. The left foot shifted slightly before a small voice said:

"Other me?"

"Hey Aibou," Yami, who was laying upside down on the couch in the living room, lifted his head up far enough to see Yugi's face. The expression on it was hard to read from this angle.

"What are you doing?" the smaller of the two asked.

"Just laying here," Yami said, letting his head fall back. His spiky hair brushed over the floor and into his sight, he blew the blonde bangs out of his face.

"Why are you upside down?"

It took Yami a second to answer, as if he was really mulling it over... trying to pick the correct words. He finally said, "Would you believe me if I said it's because I wanted to get a perspective of what the world looks like to Marik?"

"Not really," Yugi sighed.

"Didn't think so," Yami chuckled, sitting up. A bit too quickly actually, he was hit very hard with light headed-ness as all the blood that had gathered there now rushed away. He sat back, holding his head in his hands. Yugi settled next to the Pharaoh with a concerned look on his face.

"You're worried, aren't you, other me..." he averted his gaze to the floor.

"How can I not be?" Yami sighed, placing an arm around Yugi's shoulders. the small duelist's lips tugged into a small smile as he snuggled closer to Yami.

"Everything will be alright," Yugi tried to hide the sadness he felt, but the lump in his throat made it nearly impossible.

"I know, Aibou, I know," Yami said, embracing the small teen close to him. Yugi shifted a bit, the Pharaoh looked down into his large eyes. Yami's heart lurched, he knew that look... the desire that was hidden deep in his eyes...

Despite his cheerlessness, another small smile found its way to Yugi's lips. He finally worked up enough courage and leaned closer to his counterpart. He was going to do it. He was going to kiss him. He was going to show Yami how he really felt.

Suddenly Yami stood up.

"Other me?"

"I should probably call Kaiba," Yami said, he didn't look back at Yugi, the look at rejection on his face would only break his heart, "I haven't heard from him in a couple days, I should make sure he's still alive."

"Do you think Marik could have killed him?" Yugi asked.

"No," Yami glanced back long enough to flash him a smile as he said, "But I wouldn't put it past that stupid tomb robber."

---(--)---

Seto sat at the secretary's desk just outside his office at Kaiba Corp. He shuffled through the papers, looking for the report he needed for today's conference call. There was organization to the desk, but it's system of files, folders, and bins was unfamiliar to the CEO. After all, this was the first time in his whole life he'd sat at with desk.

He missed Ganeen. She was one of the best secretaries Seto had ever had. She had lasted much longer than all the previous girls. He could think of at least a dozen others Marik could have took and Seto wouldn't have gave a damn about them.

"Listen to me... _took_," Seto said quietly to himself, "I don't even know what Marik did with her..."

The CEO sighed, he didn't even want to _think_ about what that blonde psychopath could have done with his secretary.

Seto glanced around the desk and quickly stood up from the rolling chair. Suddenly he couldn't stand being in this space. He returned to his office, perhaps the report he was looking for was in there. When the door clicked open Bakura, who was curled up on the black leather love seat, snapped to attention.

"At ease, grave robber," Seto called, closing the door behind him, "It's just me."

"Figures," Bakura grumbled, his head fell back on the arm of the love seat as his attention returned to the ceiling tiles above him. The look on his face was obvious, he was dying of boredom. Seto couldn't blame him, he knew it wasn't like the tomb robber to wait, if it was up to him he'd be out there right now tracking Marik down himself. Seto was very grateful, however, that Yami had suggested that Bakura stay with him. With so much on his mind already he'd probably go crazy if he had to worry about Marik too. He and Bakura may not have had much to talk about the past couple days, but it was nice to know he wasn't alone. He never thought he'd actually enjoy someone else's company like this. There was just something about Bakura that was different.

Seto rustled around his desk with no luck, still the report he needed eluded him. The CEO let out a deep sigh and slumped over his desk, holding his head in his hands. Where could it be? He'd never replaced anything in his entire life. He was so aggravated.

It was then that the phone on the secretary's desk began to ring.

Seto closed his eyes and fell further into his arms, burying himself in them on the desk as the phone rang a second time.

"Bakura," Seto said, though it was muffled by the hard wood he was talking into, "Could you please get that?"

The phone rang a third time.

"Do I look like a fucking secretary?" Bakura asked grumpily, he enjoyed his love seat and didn't want to move, plus he wasn't fond of phones.

"You're closer."

Bakura grumbled, Seto muttered something to the desk, and the phone rang a fourth time. It was clear that the CEO wasn't going to be answering the phone this time, and Bakura knew how much he hated to miss calls, so he got up and walked swiftly to the other room. The whole way he wondered what he even cared.

"What do you want?" the tomb robber snapped into the receiver.

"Bakura?" the voice on the other line asked.

"Who wants to know?" the white haired spirit asked, even though he could tell the voice belonged to that insufferable Pharaoh.

"_I knew it!_" Yami exclaimed, "You did kill Kaiba! Tomb Robber I'm ashamed of you!"

Bakura growled at the phone, "I haven't killed Kaiba yet!"

The CEO's head lifted off his arms when he heard that. He wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing for Bakura to say. He decided he should probably go investigate.

"What do you want, Pharaoh?" Bakura asked as Seto stepped out of his office, the brunette pressed a button putting Yami on speakerphone and settled in the desk chair.

"Well I haven't heard from you guys in a while," Yami said, "Just wanted to make sure one or more of you haven't been killed."

There was a pause and then he added sternly, "_Bakura._"

"What the fuck, Pharaoh!" Bakura said indignantly, sitting down on the secretary's desk, "It's like you don't know me at all, I would never do something like that!"

"Tomb robber," Yami sighed, "I've known you for over three thousand years, and yes, you would."

Bakura glared at the phone for a few seconds before his face broke into a wide grin, "Yeah, I would."

Seto's eyes widened a bit, not because Bakura just said that he would kill him, but because he just realized that the spirit's crotch was right in front of him... and he had been staring at it. Something stirred inside him. He looked away, unfortunately his gaze fell upon Bakura's face, those smiling lips. Man those lips looked delicious. Wait, what was he thinking? Oh fuck what he thought. He felt drawn to those lips.

"I could change you know," Bakura laughed, all his attention was directed towards the phone, he didn't even notice when Seto stood up next to him.

"Yeah, right," Yami snorted, "And tomorrow I'm going to change my hair style."

Bakura was going to retort curtly, but found it very difficult considering the fact that there was another tongue in his mouth. Seto leaned over the tomb robber kissing him hungrily. The CEO had advanced on him so fast he was glad that he even found Bakura's lips. He pushed the spirit back against the desk as his tongue continued to assault his mouth.

"Bakura?"

Their lips parted with a gasp when they heard Yami calling over the speakerphone. They stared at each other with wide eyes.

"Bakura!"

"Ah y-yes?" the spirits squeaked, he still stared at the CEO, who was blushing bright red and now avoiding his gaze.

"What's wrong?" Yami sounded concerned.

Bakura screwed up face and cleared his throat, trying to sound normal as he answered, "Nothing, what, why, what would be wrong?"

"Ok, if you insist tomb robber," Yami said, "Have you heard anything from Marik?"

"Nothing," Bakura said pointedly, "What about you?"

"Same," Yami sighed, "I have a bad feeling about all this."

Bakura sighed, "It's Marik, just the thought of him is a bad feeling. In fact, it's probably best that we haven't heard from him, that's better then having him breathe down your neck this whole time."

"I guess you're right," Yami sounded less then convinced, "Well I'll let you go then, Seto's probably very busy."

Bakura glanced at the CEO, he had returned to the desk chair dying from embarrassment... and hiding the bulge that had appeared during the heated kiss they'd just shared.

"You could say that yes," the spirit smirked.

"Let me know if you hear anything from Marik!"

"Whatever, Pharaoh."

Bakura hung up the phone and turned his full attention to the CEO. He chuckled. Seto finally looked back at him, a shocked look in his bright blue eyes and his cheeks still painted red.

"That was certainly a surprise," Bakura drawled.

"Shut up," Seto muttered, he glared at the spirit for mocking him, "Just forget that ever happened!"

"Now, now," Bakura leaned over, taking the CEO's chin in his hand. He looked deep into those blue eyes as he bared his teeth in a sinister grin. Seto gulped. A fire burned brightly in Bakura's brown eyes as he said, "Why would I want to forget the greatest kiss of my life?"


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**---Oh man, you probably all wanna kill me don't you?**

**I'm not entirely sure how the past, almost three months got away from me... something about work, and holidays, and a boyfriend? It's hard to say. **

**But the monsters back, with a vengeance! In the course of writing this chapter I added anywhere between two and three chapters I hadn't originally planned. (which I had already done, by the way, I couple chapters ago) Making the story, probably, five or more chapters longer then planned. Le sigh.**

**It was been so long since I had written that I had to go back and reread the whole story (which was great because I had forgotten how awesome it was xD) When I got to the last chapter I was cursing MYSELF for the cliffhanger and nothing afterwards. Well here it is... this chapter isn't that long, just a transition between thoughts. **

**I'm excited about the next chapter. Enjoy for now!---**

**Of You And Me:  
Chapter Eighteen**

_Wednesday_

Dark. The room was dark. The night was dark. Everything around was shrouded in the inky black aura that surrounded him. And he liked it.

No, he _loved_ it.

He wanted to cover the world with this darkness. Wanted to share this beauty with everyone. In the dark everything was perfect, everything was equal. He was in ecstasy. The only thing that made it better was the sharp knife in his hand.

He twirled it slowly in his fingers. He was it so clearly in black. His eyes were well adjusted to this lack of light, the natural eyes of a predator stalking his pray in the late hours of the night. Oh yes, he saw his victim so clear in his mind... his thoughts... his fantasies. He had to have him.

Those long white locks, that creamy skin. Broken, so easily broken.

The knife stopped spinning. He gripped the handle tightly, his thumb gently caressed the cool blade. _Relax, _he told himself, _it'll be soon._

Yes, soon. Soon they would slip up, soon they will let down their guard... Just a little. That's all he needed.

He ran the long side of the blade against his arm. The cold metal felt wonderful on his warm skin. _Soon._

"But not soon enough!" he scowled, throwing the knife from his hands. Violet eyes narrowed as the blade skittered cross the floor and out of sight.

Marik Ishtar was getting impatient.

---(--)---

"Do you think you'll ever defeat that insufferable Pharaoh?"

A growl, "Why would you bring him up?"

"I'm just curious."

Silence followed. The sound of peaceful breathing was the only thing that could be heard in the room. Seto and Bakura laid together in the CEO's large bed, as big as it was the two were intertwined without so much as an inch of space between them. Bakura relished these moments like this.

The sheets rustled as the spirit adjusted the pillow behind his head. He had never known comfort like this. He couldn't even remember if he had ever slept in a bed like this before, after all, there wasn't anything like this when he had been alive in Egypt. It made him think back to all those nights trapped inside Ryou's mind while he slept...the spirit never thought he'd experience this first hand.

Oh, Ryou. The spirit glanced at the CEO. He wondered what would happen once they got rid of Marik. Would he ever get to see Seto anymore? Ryou would have control of the body during the day so he could go to school... and he couldn't come and keep Seto up all night. Somewhere in his heart ached at the thought. He hated this.

"I like to think," Bakura snapped out of his thoughts when Seto spoke again, "That someday I'll beat his pasty Pharaoh ass."

The spirit heard Seto sigh before he finished speaking, "But I guess, truthfully, I know that'll never happen."

Bakura chuckled, "It must be really hard for you to admit that."

"Yeah well," Seto changed his position, pulling the tomb robber closer to him, "Something about you makes it not so hard."

Bakura laughed as he settled himself, his face nuzzled the CEO's chest affectionately.

"Do you think you could beat me?" he asked.

Seto looked down at him slyly, "Are you challenging me to a duel?"

"I could be."

"You'll surely regret that," Seto smirked.

Bakura looked up at the CEO, matching his smirk, "We'll see."

"Yes, tomorrow," Seto tightened his grip on Bakura, the spirit leaned up further. His eyes slipped closed as their lips met. A fire ignited deep inside him. Desire. He had never felt anything like this before... was this... love?

Damn, that boy _had_ made him soft. The mighty King of Thieves was in _love._

The broke apart, looking into each other's eyes. Lust clouded the brunette's bright blue eyes. The ache in Bakura's heart worsened the longer he looked at Seto. He hoped it didn't show on his face.

"I..." the tomb robber began, but the words got caught in his throat, choking him up. He swallowed the words and decided to say something else instead, "I should go check on Mokuba."

A fresh wave of sadness washed over Seto's features. Bakura knew now that the pain in his heart also showed on his face. It was becoming harder and harder to leave the CEO's side. He wanted to spend every moment with him. But he had other obligations. He must put protecting Seto, and his brother, above all else. As great as these feelings were he couldn't let them get in the way, it was the type of weakness Marik would feat upon if he ever found out about it.

Seto didn't say anything as the tomb robber slipped out of his embrace. He knew there was nothing he could say to change it. Mokuba was more important then this moment.

Bakura padded quietly out of the room, pausing in the doorway he turned back to Seto, "I'll be back before you wake."

"Just keep my brother safe," Seto said. Bakura nodded curtly and was gone.

As the tomb robber made his way towards the youngest Kaiba's room he tried to clear his head. What was he thinking? He can't fall in... in _love_. Being in sole control of this body, didn't mean he had the right to act like it was his own. He wasn't like that anymore, he had changed... hadn't he?

He guessed not.

But still, how could this have happened? He wasn't even alive. He was a spirit, a shadow of his former self. Well, if he could still harbor emotions of hatred toward the Pharaoh, he guessed he could develop new emotions towards someone else. It was just all so new, this was really going to take some time to get used too.

Bakura stopped outside Mokuba's bedroom door. The latch clicked softly as he opened the door and peeked in on him. In the bed on the other side of the room the small child slept. A beam of moonlight streamed in through the window and caressed over the boys tender face. If only that jet black hair were white... Bakura could have mistaken him for Ryou.

It was remarkable how much this small boy reminded him of Ryou. They both seemed so young, so innocent, even though they ages were so far apart. The boy he shared a body with just never lost that childlike wonder in him. It was a gift and curse.

The door closed again. Everything seemed well here.

Bakura sighed as he slumped down the the floor just outside the bedroom door. It was going to be another long night. It really would have been nice to wonder off with Malik right now and have a smoke. Damn that blonde haired menace, when he was back to normal Bakura was going to give him the thrashing he deserved. He'll teach that brat a lesson he'll never forget.

_But for now_, Bakura thought as he dug a deck of cards from his pocket, _I've got a duel to prepare for_.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**---Oh. My. God. **

**This story is such a monster. Because of this little side trip this story is going to gain two or three more chapters then planned... on TOP of the two or three more chapters I've already added. This week will never end xD**

**But that's ok, I like it! **

**Before starting to write this chapter I planned it (and the next chapter) out... I have six pages FULL of notes. And by FULL I don't mean "Oh a little scribble here or there" No, FULL as in, there is no room left to write on the page. Gosh!**

**This (and the next chapter) is dedicated to my wonderful awesome boyfriend. x3 He got to read this chapter before anyone else, he had to check to make sure I was playing by the rules. (Psh, him and his rules! I'm a Kaiba I'm supposed to screw the rules!)**

**Ok, I'll stop talking now, since this chapter is pretty long. Enjoy!---  
**

**Chapter Nineteen**

_Thursday._

_Boy, everyone must be running late today,_ Yugi thought to himself as he shuffled through the crowded hallway. The other teens towered over him as he dodged and sidestepped away from many near misses of being trampled. He clutched tightly to the heavy text books in his arms as the sound of slamming lockers and chatter swirled around him.

The petite duelist was not used to being this late, he usually arrived and was in his first period way before the crowd of juvenile teens swamped the school. He had over slept this morning though... his other self hadn't been sleeping lately, so Yugi had been staying up late as well, worrying about him. But now, as the large black and white clocks that lined the hallway ticked closer and closer to the start of the day, everyone, including himself, was scrambling to be on time.

Yugi glanced up at the nearest clock with a groan. The thick black hands showed him he had five minutes... no that second hand was much too close to the twelve... _four _minutes to get to class. It was just at the end of the hall, he sighed, he was gonna have plenty of tim--

"Oh no!" he cried out as someone brushed past him, knocking the thick books out of his hands. They clattered loudly over the floor as the other teen disappeared into a nearby classroom without a single glance back at poor Yugi who nearly toppled over at the collision. Within seconds the hall was deserted leaving the boy alone. As fast as the students had came they were gone, all in their rooms ready to start the day. The spiky haired teen quickly gathered up his books again and scampered down to his class.

His footsteps seemed to echo around the now empty hallway as he ran. Clambering through the doorway, Yugi thumped down into his seat just as the bell started to ring. He exhaled graciously, _whew just in time_. In the front of the classroom the teacher stood and began taking roll. The pint sized duelist barely listened to her drone on names, he knew it would be a bit before _his_ name was called.

In his lack of attention Yugi's mind wandered to a less then cheerful thought. All over the school teachers were standing and taking roll and students were sitting in their desks replying in a bored monotone. But there were three desks that sat empty. Three names without answer.

_Bakura._

_ Ishtar._

_ Kaiba._

His felt a pang in his heart. It had been almost a week since he had seen his friends, and a deep gloom had fallen over the rest of the group. They all worried, but none of them spoke about it. Lunch had been very quiet this past week. Yugi wanted to see them, he wanted to know they were ok. He wanted this whole ordeal to be over and to have things be back to normal.

Anger flashed in Yugi's mind.

"Motou?"

He jumped. The name had brought him back to the real world with a jolt. He blinked and looked around, he had forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.

"Motou?' the voice asked again.

"Here!" Yugi peeped before sinking down in his seat in embarrassment. Perhaps he should get off this train of thought.

It was a good idea in theory, but not one that would come to pass, for as the teacher concluded the roll call and began the days lesson his mind once again gallivanted off on his own. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered if he learned anything this week, but somewhere further then that he didn't really care for the most important thing to the teen at the moment was wondering what his friends were doing.

---(--)---

Across town at the Kaiba Corp. Duel Dome two other teenagers stood without a second thought to prior adolescent engagements such as school. The brunette and white haired duelist faced each other, duel disks strapped securely to their arms and a deck of cards in their hands. There was a hushed silence around as they shuffled the cards.

Seto couldn't help but glance at Bakura as he shuffled. He paused for a moment to watch him. The tomb robber stood rigid, the only part of him that moved was his hands as he quickly mixed up the cards. His dark brown eyes were closed as he focused all his energy to his deck. Seto swore he could see the spirits of Bakura's monsters swirling around him. He wasn't one to believe in such things as the occult, but he could feel a strange vibe from Bakura. Seto had never seen anything like it, Bakura was so in tune with his cards.

The spirit stopped shuffling and his eyes opened, brown met blue. Seto quickly looked away, his face felt oddly warm.

"Done shuffling?" Bakura asked.

"Uh..." Seto looked down at the cards in his hand, _did _he shuffle? He quickly mixed the cards a few times and returned his attention back to the tomb robber, "All ready."

Bakura slipped his deck into the holder on his duel disk and grinned at the CEO, "Then let's do this."

Seto nodded, with a flash his deck was also placed in his duel disk.

"And you don't have to go easy on me just because I'm so beautiful," Bakura said idly as he drew five cards.

Seto laughed, "Don't worry, I don't go easy on anyone."

"Good," Bakura looked at his cards, "Then you won't mind if I go first."

Seto's eyes narrowed, it was time to get into game mode. It didn't matter what he felt for Bakura, he was now his opponent. He was going to go at the spirit full force. The spirit, on the other hand, was studying his cards for a moment before picking one out. He placed it on his duel disk.

"One monster face down," he said as a hologram of a defense card appeared on the field, "End turn."

"That's all," Seto smirked as he drew cards, "This'll be easy."

"We'll see."

Seto looked at his hand. _The White Stone of Legend, Future Fusion, Heavy Storm, Montage Dragon, Release Restraint Wave._ Excellent, this _was_ going to be easy.

"For my first move, I'll play a magic card," Seto slipped the card into the first magic/trap slot, "_Future Fusion!_"

A hologram of the card appeared on the field, Seto took his deck out of his duel disk and riffled through it.

"I can send my three _Blue Eyes _to my graveyard and in two turns I'll special summon my _Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon_ to the field," Seto explained as slid the three _Blue Eyes_ into the graveyard and returned his deck to it's proper place, "And in the meantime..."

The CEO put his _White Stone_ in face down defense mode, "There. End turn."

Bakura drew a card. Seto studied the tomb robber's facial features, trying to read his mind. What cards did he have? What did he have planned?

"I'll just summon this," Bakura placed a card on his duel disk, a hologram of a man sleeping in a bed appeared on the field. From within him a greenish skeletal ghost surfaced, he held a sword in one hand and a shield in another, upon its head was a large mess of purple hair, "_The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams!_"

_A fiend card, interesting_, Seto thought, _I wonder if he's using the same deck from Battle City._ The CEO had, of course, seen Bakura's duel with the Pharaoh in the semi-finals of the last tournament. He knew the ins and outs of that deck. If it was, in fact, the same deck this'll be a cinch.

"_Gross Ghost_ attack the face down card!" Bakura announced. The card on the field flipped over revealing a bright white stone, it glowed and sparkled even in the bright light of the room. The ghost's sword stabbed deep into the opposing monster, a blinding light emitted from stone just before it exploded, the pieces disappearing before they hit the ground. "End turn."

Seto drew a card, _Fissure_. He added it to the other card in his hand, looking them all over. Crap, no monsters he could play, and still one more turn before before he could summon his _Blue Eyes Ultimate_. Bakura had two monsters... he could summon another one next turn and do a lot of damage.

Well, he couldn't prevent all the damage, but he'd do what he could, "_Fissure!_"

The CEO activated the magic card he just drew. The ground below the _Gross Ghost_ split in two, the monster screeched loudly as it fell down into the cavern and disappeared.

"End turn," Seto said as the ground returned the normal. Bakura scoffed at him as he drew a card.

The spirit's eyes narrowed at his hand, he must not have got anything good. _Either way_, Seto smirked at the look on Bakura's face, _It would be stupid for him to summon a monster right now_.

"I'll just sacrifice this," Bakura discarded his defense monster, that turned out to be _Souls of the Forgotten_, "And summon another defense monster."

Another card appeared in its place.

"Nothing's going to be able to save you as soon as I summon my dragon," Seto chuckled.

Bakura clicked his tongue, "We'll see Kaiba. End turn."

Seto laughed as he drew his card, _Malevolent Nuzzler. _Nice.

"Prepare yourself, tomb robber!" The _Future Fusion _on the field lit up and from it emerged the gigantic beast so many had come to fear. And Bakura was no exception. He stared up in horror at the massive three-headed dragon, all three mouths opened wide as it roared at its latest victim.

Ah, Seto never got tired of feeling he got at seeing that look on his opponents face.

"And that's not all," the CEO grinned slipping a magic card into duel disk, "I'm also going to equip my _Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon_ with _Malevolent Nuzzler_, raising my dragons attack power from 4500 to an unmatched _5200!_"

The dragon roared again as it grew even larger before Bakura's scared eyes.

"Now _Blue Eyes_ attack!" Seto called out. All three mouths on the beast opened again, large streams of lightening burst forth from each one, they came together, swirling to make a blast of white light that obliterated Bakura's defense monster, _Millennium Shield_. Even with it's three-thousand defense points it never stood a chance against the ultimate dragon.

"End turn."

Trembling the tomb robber reached over and drew a card. As soon as he looked at it his face lit up.

"Impressive, Seto," Bakura said calmly, "Summoning your ultimate dragon in three turns, very impressive."

His face split into a sinister grin.

"Unfortunately though," he continued, "It's not quite impressive enough to beat me."

"You don't have to bluff," Seto shook his head, "There's no way your measly little _ghosts_ are going to do anything against a dragon with 5200 attack points!"

"Well then I'll just have to show you," now that the initial shock of seeing the ultimate _Blue Eyes_ had died down Bakura didn't even seem phased. A bit of fear washed over Seto himself, _could_ he have a way to beat his dragon?

"First I will play two cards face down," Bakura slid two cards into his magic/trap zones, "And then I'll summon _Jowgen the Spiritualist _in defense mode!"

A shaman appeared on field. He knelt before the large dragon with a staff in his hands. Seto almost laughed at how miniscule Bakura's monster looked compared to his.

"He only has 1300 defense points," Seto scoffed, "And he's supposed to be formidable against my dragon?"

"What you don't know, Kaiba," the spirit's grin widened, "Is that my _Jowgen_ has a special ability."

The CEO narrowed his eyes.

"I can randomly discard one card from hand," Bakura shuffled his two remaining cards, and without looking slipped one of them into his graveyard, "And now _Jowgen_ can destroy all special summoned monsters on the field! You know what that means, Kaiba!"

Seto's eyes widened and he gasped, "_My Blue Eyes!_"

"Yes!"

_Jowgen_ spun his staff around in his hand and pointed it at the dragon. A bright light appeared at the end of the staff, colors swirled around the ball of light as it powered up. Seto could hear Bakura's laughter in the background as a beam shot out of the staff and it the _Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon_, destroying it instantly.

Seto was left stunned. His dragon! His beautiful dragon!

"And that's not all," Bakura held out his arm over one of his face down cards, "Reveal card! _Ouija Board!_"

The card on the field flipped up. It morphed into a large ouija board and lifted up above Bakura's head. The planchette glided eerily over the surface of the board touching different letters. Seto felt that same vibe as before, he could imagine lost ghosts of Bakura's deck floating around their master. Unseen forces from beyond the grave played on the sinister game board above his head. A game that did not end well for Seto.

"I'm sure you remember this card," Bakura grinned. Oh yes, Seto remembered it well. This was the same card the spirit had used against Yami at Battle City, "So I won't waste my breath explaining it, _Ouija Board_, reveal the first letter of Seto's demise!"

The planchette slid over the board a few more times before coming to a complete stop over one of the letters. From the hole in the planchette a white mist wafted out, hovering just above the board it took the form of a ghost. Within the the smokey haze was a very distinct letter "D". One by one the the other four letters would appear... D... E... A... T... H...

"You're in my world now, Kaiba," Bakura leered, "End turn."

Seto smirked and drew his card. Was this supposed to scare the CEO? He added the new card, _Compulsory Evacuation Device_, to his hand and looked it over. Ah, he still had that _Heavy Storm_. Perfect for just this sort of occasion. But, he wasn't going to use it yet... no no, let Bakura live in his delusion just a little longer. He just had to protect his life points until then.

Bakura only had one monster on the field, his _Jowgen _in defense mood. The monster only had two-hundred attack points, so there's no way the spirit would use that to attack with. So he only had to worry about other monsters Bakura would summon.

"I'll just play one card for now," Seto said, sliding a card into his duel disk, "End turn."

"You know what that means," Bakura said, he raised his arm up towards the board above him, "_Ouija Board_ go!"

The planchette glided over the board once more, stopping on the second letter. Once again a white ghost drifted out of the hole revealing the letter.

_D...E..._

"My turn," Bakura drew a card, he looked at the card and then to Seto's field, "No monsters? Maybe I'll just kill you before my ouija board does."

He put the card on the field, "I summon--"

"Not so fast," Seto cut him off, "Reveal face down card, _Compulsory Evacuation Device!_"

Seto's card flipped up, and before Bakura's monster was summoned the card was ejected back to his hand. The spirit scowled at him.

"Fine then. End turn."

Seto drew his card, _Solidarity_.Damn it, still not a monster... where were they? And nothing he had could protect his life points. Damn damn damn. He'd just have to fake Bakura out for now.

"One more card face down," again Seto slipped a card into his duel disk, "End turn."

The ouija board came to life again. A third ghost appeared.

_D... E... A... _

"Tsk tsk Kaiba," Bakura chuckled as he drew a card, "Is _Blue Eyes_ the only monster in your deck?"

"So what if it is?" Seto glared at him, "I still have plenty of other ways of destroying your deck."

"Hmph," Bakura placed a card on his duel disk, "I summon _Headless Knight!_"

A dense purple fog rose up, covering Bakura's whole side of the field. Seto could hear the metallic footsteps as a large suit of armor walked out of the haze. The helmet, and subsequently the head that lay beneath, had been cut clean off. The knight stood on the field with a sword and shield ready to strike.

Bakura's dark eyes flickered to the face down card Seto had on the field. _Yes,_ Seto thought, _take my bait, let me live another turn_. The spirit must have read his mind, because he looked from the card on the field to his hand and sighed.

"End turn."

Seto drew a card, _Mausoleum of the Emperor_. Still nothing he could he use. So he just slipped his _Heavy Storm_ into the second magic/trap slot.

"One more face down," he said as the card appeared on the field next to his other one, "End turn."

Above Bakura a fourth ghostly letter appeared.

_D...E...A...T..._

"You've made this all way to easy, Kaiba," Bakura laughed as he drew a card, "No wonder that pesky Pharaoh has trounced you so many time."

"I just got a bad hand this game, I guess," the CEO shrugged. Inside he was dying with laughter.

"Well, since you only have one turn left, I see no point in attacking you," Bakura sighed, "So we'll just get right down to it. End turn."

_This is it_, Seto thought as he drew a card. _Needle Wall_, damn it, maybe _Blue Eyes_ was the only monster in his deck. All he's had the whole duel was this useless _Montage Dragon_. What a waste, even if he had three other monsters he couldn't special summon as long as _Jowgen_ was on the field. Oh well, time to deal with his first problem...

Seto opened his mouth to activate his magic card when he paused. He had just noticed one fatal flaw in his plan... Bakura had another face down card. No... how could he have overlooked something like that!

The turn Bakura played the _Ouija Board_ he had also played that face down card. It was probably something he could use to destroy his magic or trap card.

The CEO felt panic starting the set in. Why hadn't he seen that sooner? He looked to the other cards in his hand, the _Heavy Storm_ he set last turn was the only thing that could save him now... if that didn't work... well he could just not play it and accept defeat... but what if... what if...

_Listen to me_, Seto growled, _'what if?' I don't have time for such things. There's only one thing to do!_

"This was nice while it lasted, Bakura," Seto's eyes burned with anger and excitement, "This _is_ the final turn... but only for your bogus game board above your head! Reveal face down card, _Heavy Storm!_"

The second card on Seto's side of the field flipped up. A heavy gust of wind began spinning around the field. It hit the CEO's other card first, obliterating it before working it's way toward Bakura. The purple fog mixing with the wind.

"Nooo!" The spirit cried out in rage as the violaceous tornado sucked his ouija board and ghosts into oblivion, as well as the face down card on his side of the field.

Seto smirked as the wind died down and Bakura shot him a death glare.

"It's seems you made a _grave_ miscalculation, tomb robber," the CEO chuckled, "For this is, in fact, _my_ _world_ and I'm just getting started."


	21. Chapter Twenty

**---I almost changed my mind and cut out the second part of this duel. But after I thought about it (and much complaint from my boyfriend, who wanted to read the rest of it) I decided to put it in. It would have been too rushed to have the first part of the duel and the next chapter be like "Oh by the way, so and so won". **

**This part of the duel actually ended up being A LOT longer then I thought it was going to be. Lol.**

**Bad monster story! Bad!---  
**

**Of You and Me:  
Chapter Twenty**

_Thursday._

"Reveal face down card, _Heavy Storm!_"

"Nooo!" Bakura instinctively shielded himself from the violent wind that destroyed his magic and trap cards. His ouija board, his beautiful ouija board! As the wind died down he looked up at the CEO with a malicious glare.

Seto smirked, "It seems you made a _grave_ miscalculation tomb robber. For this is, in fact, _my world_ and I'm just getting started."

"We'll see," Bakura growled, "I have plenty other tricks up my sleeve."

"Hmph," Seto slipped one card into his first magic/trap zone, "End turn."

Bakura drew a card and added it to his hand. Damn that Kaiba, he was so close to winning. No matter, he had big lead over him with monsters. The spirit will just have to destroy the CEO the old fashion way, by taking out his life points. He looked over the cards that he had, _Whiptail Crow, Magic Cylinder, Dark Factory of Mass Production, _and the card he just drew, _Dark King of the Abyss_.

"Well I'll just play another card," Bakura glared harder at Seto as his slipped his _Magic Cylinders _into one of this magic/trap slots, "And I'll summon this."

He placed one of this monsters on the field. Next to his _Headless Knight _an orange crow appeared. It squawked loudly and bared its green claws at Seto threateningly. Now he three monsters on the field, but with _Jowgen's_ attack being only 200 he'd keep that one in defense mode.

"Now my monsters attack!" Bakura commanded. He didn't fear the face down card on the other side of the field, this is was not the time to be defensive. The spirit knew that Seto had to have some more powerful monsters somewhere in his deck, and he had to take him out before he could draw them.

The _Whiptail Crow _and _Headless Knight_ both advanced on Seto attacking him directly. The life point counter on the brunette's duel disk dropped from 8000 to 4900. After the monsters had returned to their own side of the field Seto shot the spirit a glare of his own.

"Hm, this'll be easy," Bakura chuckled, "End turn."

Seto drew a card, "Not so fast, I activate my face down card, _Needle Wall_."

A large six-sided dice appeared above the CEO.

"During each of my standby phases I can roll this dice and if you're monster is in that monster space it'll be destroyed," Seto explained, "Now, roll dice!"

The dice clattered down onto the field. When it came to stop Seto looked at it and grinned.

"Three, how unfortunate," he said as two stone walls appeared on either side of Bakura's monster, each of the walls were covered with razor sharp spikes, "Say good-bye to your _Whiptail Crow_."

The walls slowly started to slide towards each other. The crow let out a last mournful cry before it was crushed between them.

"Damn you, Kaiba," Bakura slipped the monster into his graveyard.

"And then I'll summon a monster of my own," Seto placed the dragon on the field, "_Mirage Dragon!_"

A pinkish fog covered Seto's side of the field and from that fog appeared a large snake-like yellow dragon.

"Wow, you actually have monsters other then your shoddy _Blue Eyes_," Bakura said.

"Surprising, isn't it?" the CEO agreed, "I'll also activate _Solidarity_."

He slipped a second card into his magic/trap zones. The dragon on the field grew even larger.

"As long as this is on the field all my dragons gain 800 attack points," Seto smirked, "And my dragon also has a special ability, no trap cards can be activated during the battle phase."

"Shit," Bakura muttered, the dragon already had more attack points then his knight before Seto activated _Solidarity_. The _Mirage Dragon's _attack points rose from 1600 to 2400. And his _Magic Cylinders _was completely useless now.

Damn you, Kaiba. Damn, damn, damn!

"_Mirage Dragon_ attack the _Headless Knight!_"

The dragon roared as he slithered over to the knight, scratching him with his enormous claws. The knight buckled under the force of the dragon and was destroyed. Bakura's life point counter dropped from 8000 to 7050. The spirit sighed, at least he didn't lose too many life points.

"End turn," Seto said as Bakura put his monster into the graveyard.

The spirit then drew a card, _Waboku_. Well, it wasn't going to help him at the moment, but he'd hold onto it. He had other ways to protect his life points for now.

"First I'm going to play _Dark Factory of Mass Production_," Bakura slid the magic card into his duel disk, "Allowing me to return two normal monsters from my graveyard to my hand."

The spirit slipped the cards in his graveyard out of the duel disk and shuffled through them. He already knew the first card he was going to pick. _Millennium Shield, _and it's beautiful three-thousand defense points. Hm, what other one should he take? _Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams_ had the second most defense points, so he picked that one as well. He added the two cards to his hand and slipped the rest back into the duel disk.

"And then I'll sacrifice my _Jowgen _to place another monster in face down defense position," a white light swirled around the monster on Bakura's side of the field and it disappeared, only to be replaced with a large hologram of card, "End turn."

Seto drew a card and then pointed to the dice above him, "_Needle Wall_ go!"

Once again the dice clattered down onto the field. It was a two.

"Ha, too bad you already destroyed that one," Bakura laughed.

Seto shrugged, "Doesn't matter, I'll still break down your defenses with my monsters."

_Not this turn_, Bakura thought trying to hold back his smirk.

"_Mirage Dragon_ attack!"

The dragon slashed at the face down card on the field, it flipped over revealing a red and gold shield. On the front of the shield was the very familiar eye that appeared on all the Millennium Items. The dragon's attack bounced off the shield without so much as a dent on the strong metal. The difference in the attack and defense points were reflected in Seto's life points as the counter dropped again to 4300.

The spirit guffawed, "Yes, Kaiba, let's see you break down my defenses."

"End turn," the CEO growled.

Bakura drew a card, a second _Whiptail Crow_.

"I'll just place another monster in defense mode and end my turn."

As a second card appeared next to Bakura's shield Seto drew his card.

"_Needle Wall!_" The dice this turn rolled a four.

"Missed again," said Bakura.

"Shut up," the CEO snapped at him.

"Oh, Kaiba," Bakura continued to tease him, "Are you afraid you're going to lose?"

"Of course not," Seto said, he was getting very disgruntled. Bakura loved it, "I place one card on the field and then attack your face down card with _Mirage Dragon!_"

The CEO slipped a card into his third magic/trap zone as his dragon proceeded to pounce on the card on the field. The _Gross Ghost _was killed instantly.

"End turn."

Bakura drew a card, _Negate Attack_, another useless trap card.

"I'll just play another monster in defense mode," Bakura said placing the card on his duel disk. Once again a card appeared on the field, "And I'll end my turn."

Seto narrowed his eyes as he drew his card, "You can't keep running forever."

Bakura clicked his tongue at him, "We'll see."

"_Needle Wall!_"

This time the dice rolled a one. The stone walls appeared on either side of the _Millennium Shield_. Not even it's massive amounts of defense points could save it from the spikes at it was smashed between the walls. Bakura growled loudly.

_Damn! Damn! Damn!_

"Excellent," Seto said, "Now _Mirage Dragon_ attack the face down card!"

Bakura's _Whiptail Crow_ was destroyed, leaving him with no monsters on the field. He looked down at his hand, only one more monster left, and with that blasted _Mirage Dragon_ on the field most of his trap cards were useless. Damn.

"I don't think I'll be needing this anymore," Seto discarded his _Needle Wall_ from the field into his graveyard, "End turn."

Bakura drew his next card, _Gift of the Mystical Elf_. Well, that could help a little, but if he didn't draw something that could destroy Seto's dragon soon all he'd be able to do is watch helplessly as all his life points were blasted away.

"I'll lay two cards down," Bakura slipped two cards into his duel disk, "And play another monster in defense mode."

Yet another card appeared on the field.

"End turn."

Seto drew a card.

"Ah, now we'll be able to do some damage," the CEO laughed placing a card on his duel disk, "I summon _Blizzard Dragon!_"

Next to the dragon Seto already had on the field a second one appeared. It was icy blue with large wings attached to his hands.

"And because of my _Solidarity _it's attack is raised to 2600," he explained.

"You won't be doing any damage to me this turn, Kaiba," Bakura sneered, "Reveal face down card, _Waboku!_"

One of the trap cards on the spirit's side of the field flipped up. Three magicians appeared on the the flied, they were each cloaked in bright blue robes.

"Your monsters damage is just going to be reduced to zero," said Bakura.

"Hmph, well they can still attack," Seto retorted, "_Mirage Dragon_ attack the face down card!"

The _Dark King of the Abyss_ was destroyed as Seto's dragon attacked.

"And since my monsters can't damage you," the CEO continued, "I'll just activate _Cemetary Bomb!_ Now you'll lose a hundred life points for every card in your graveyard!"

A black circle surrounded Bakura's duel disk as his life points counted down to 5350. The spirit glowered darkly at Seto.

"End turn," he smirked.

Bakura drew a card, a second _Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams_. That still wasn't going to help, and now there was an even stronger dragon to defeat.

"Another monster in defense mode," Bakura placed it on the field.

"Why don't you just give up, tomb robber," Seto sighed, "You're pathetic defense monsters are just prolonging the inevitable."

"Never," Bakura said calmly, "I never give up."

"Suit yourself," the CEO shrugged, "Done yet?"

"Yeah yeah," Bakura rolled his eyes, "End turn."

"Good," Seto drew a card.

"I'll just play one card," he slid another card into his magic/trap slots, "And one monster in defense mode."

"Then I'll activate another trap card," Bakura said. As Seto's defense card appeared on the field Bakura's second trap card flipped up revealing the _Gift of the Mystical Elf_, "I'll gain three-hundred life points for every monster on the field."

Four monsters on the field now, 1200 points were added to Bakura's life, raising it up to 6550.

"That still won't give you much of a lead," said Seto, "_Mirage Dragon _attack!"

Bakura's third monster in a row was destroyed with ease.

"Now _Blizzard Dragon_ attack him directly!"

The icy dragon opened his mouth and shot a white stream of snow at the spirit. His life points dropped further down to 3950.

"That's better," Seto smiled, "End turn."

Bakura drew his card, he had to restrain so much self control to not squeal with joy as he saw the card, _Man-Eater Bug._ At last!

He screwed up his face into a scowl as he placed the card on his duel disk, "Another defense monster. End turn."

"Isn't this getting old?" Seto asked as he drew his card.

"Then let me win if you're getting that bored, Kaiba," the spirit said.

"_Mirage Dragon_ attack!"

Bakura's monster flipped up revealing the sinister bug beneath. As the dragon slashed his claw at the _Man-Eater Bug _it attacked back and both monsters were destroyed.

"How dare you!" Seto growled, "_Blizzard Dragon_ attack!"

"You fell into both of my traps, Kaiba," Bakura laughed, "Reveal face down, _Magic Cylinder!_"

Two large cups appeared in front of Bakura. The dragon's attack went into one of the cups and shot out the second one, hitting Seto directly. His life points counter dropped down to 1700.

"You must be getting frustrated," the spirit leered, "Making two mistakes like that, it isn't like you, Kaiba."

"Don't worry," Seto grumbled, "That's the only mistake I'll be making this duel. End turn."

Bakura drew a card, _Shield Crush_. He only had two cards in his hand, and neither of them were monsters, crap. Well, he could hold on one more turn in hopes of drawing something useful next time.

"First I'll play _Shield Crush_," the spirit slipped it into his duel disk, "Destroying your face down card!"

A beam of white-green light shot through the defense monster, shattering it into a million pieces. It didn't seem to phase Seto at all. Bakura narrowed his eyes.

"And I'll place one card on the field," he slipped a card into his magic/trap zone, "End turn."

Seto drew his card, his face instantly cracked into a sinister grin.

"I'm tiring of this game, tomb robber," the CEO placed a card into duel disk, "It's time to put this to an end! I play _Re-Fusion!_"

The magic card he had just placed flipped up and turned into a swirling vortex. Bakura's eyes widened as a very familiar dragon emerged from it's depths.

"By paying eight-hundred of my life points I can bring my _Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon_ back from the graveyard!" Seto laughed, his life point counter dropped again to 900 as the three-headed beast on the field roared at the white haired spirit. And because of the _Solidarity _Seto still had on the field the dragon was even stronger then before with 5300 attack points.

Only one card stood between them.

"Now _Blue Eyes_!" Seto cried out, "_Obliterate him!_"

"Reveal face down!" Bakura gasped at the last second, "_Negate Attack!_"

A vortex of his own appeared on the field and sucked up the dragon's lightening before it hit him. The spirit breathed a sigh of relief, that also ended Seto's battle phase so he couldn't attack with his _Blizzard Dragon_ either.

"Looks like you got lucky again," Seto sneered, "I guess that ends my turn."

As Bakura drew his card, he also grinned, _Dark Necrofear_, his last saving grace.

"At last!" Bakura laughed, "I'll removed three fiends from my graveyard to summon my most ghastly creature..."

He flashed the CEO a fiendish smile, showing off his pointed teeth as placed the monster on his duel disk.

"_Dark Necrofear!_"

Darkness shrouded Bakura's side of the field as a blue, demoniac creature appeared. It was a female type, covered in a purplish-red armor, and in her arms she cradled a broken doll as if it were her own child. The doll's head moved slowly as its eyes fell upon Seto, it cackled insanely.

"I'm sure you remember this from my duel with that insufferable Pharaoh," Bakura said.

"I remember all your moves, tomb robber," Seto rolled his eyes, "Your deck hasn't changed at all."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Bakura shrugged.

The CEO raised an eye brow at him, "Have you ever won a duel with that deck?"

There was a moment of silence as the the spirit blinked at him, his dark brown eyes then narrowed and he snapped, "Shut up!"

"That's what I thought," said Seto, "You don't seem to have any cards left, does that mean it's my turn?"

"Sure, go," Bakura grunted, folding his arms over his chest.

Seto drew a card.

"_Blue Eyes_ attack," Seto said almost lazily pointing to Bakura's monster. All three mouths on the dragon opened up and blasted bright white lightening through Bakura's darkness, taking out the _Dark Necrofear_.

Bakura fearfully slipped the monster off his duel disk as his life points ticked down 850. He barely had enough to survive that attack, and Seto still had one monster left... Crap, one card short...

"End turn."

"W-what?" Was he hearing things?

"I feel sorry for you tomb robber," Seto said, "So I won't kill you yet. You can have one more turn."

"I don't need your charity," the sprit grumbled.

"Do you want me to kill you then?" Seto asked, "At least I'm giving you a chance."

There was a moment of silence again, Bakura growled and drew a card.

"Well you know now that when my _Dark Necrofear_ is destroyed it's special effect comes into play," Bakura said slipping the monster into his first magic/trap zone instead of his graveyard. A white ghost appeared on the field. It drifted slowly of the ground, swirling around Seto's monsters.

"I'm well aware of it's effect," the CEO said, watching the ghost.

"Then you must know that I'll be taking your precious _Blue Eyes_ then," Bakura grinned. The ghost disappeared into the belly of the beast, possessing the monster. The massive dragon turned on it's master. The brunette glance unemotionally up at it. _That's right, Kaiba_, Bakura thought, _take it like the bitch you are_.

"It'll be a bittersweet victory," Bakura sighed, "I'll win, but I'll know you let me. It's just not the same."

Seto didn't respond, he just kept staring up at his monster.

"Well no sense in dragging this out further," the spirit said, "_Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!_ Attack!"

The three mouths opened again, the lightening built up ready to blast Seto away when the CEO burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Bakura stopped and looked at him, "Have you lost it?"

"You just fell into your own trap!" the CEO continued to laugh, "Reveal face down card!"

Bakura gasped, "No!"

_He had a face down card!? _The spirit had completely forgotten about it! The card on Seto's field flipped up, Bakura's eyes widened when he saw what it was.

"_Magic Cylinders!_"

As the dragon's lightening attack shot at Seto, the familiar cups appeared on the field redirecting the attack back at Bakura. The spirit stood stunned as it hit him directly... the pitiful amount of life points he had left didn't even stand a chance. As soon as they hit zero all the holograms on the field disappeared.

Bakura looked up at the CEO through the fog of the dispersing holograms, "Well played, Kaiba."

Seto smirked as he collected up all his cards from the duel disk and shuffled them into his deck again, "Go again?"

"Bring it on, fancy pants."


End file.
